Aniki
by NightElfCrawler
Summary: Trip down Memory Lane. An archived story I'm bringing back.
1. Chapter 1

**_Aniki_  
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By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Tasuki's foul mouth  
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_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
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_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

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><p><strong>Standard disclaimer:<strong>_ These characters aren't mine they're created by the wonderful Watase Yuu, although I wish they were, Houjun-chan is such a hottie! So don't sue me, I need o-ka-ne right now..._

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><p>The sound of shattering filled the stony silence that had pervaded the room, like a graveyard before dawn. The couch lay overturned, battered from numerous bouts with stuffing hanging out in places, dark stains, and rips running through it's fabric. The only sound, was the low whimpering of the small beagle pup beneath the radiator in the corner.<p>

It had stopped.

After what had seemed like hours, and very well may have been, the horrendous cries, screams, and pleadings had ended in a deathly stillness which made Amy's heart flutter even more rapidly than before.

What had been the outcome?

From her hiding spot up in the small attic lined with insulating and dust, she lay curled up in a small blanket beneath the low sloping roof, barely breathing, barely daring to move or make a sound, lest he should hear her. She knew her life depended on her stillness now, even more than ever.

This had been the worst of it.

He had never come home this drunk before. Every day, he would come home angry, upset, and usually drunk. Every day, her mother would try her best to soothe him, despite the repeated outcome that always followed. Yet her devotion to him was unrequited. She would still come to him, love him, not complain despite the bruises that raised many a question among co-workers. Still….she loved him.

But that was over now.

Amy closed her eyes tightly in fear as she heard him clomping up the stairs heavily, running into the small table at the foot of the stairs, and kicking it aside with a profane curse.

She hugged the small pendant in her hand tightly to her chest, praying for it to keep her safe like it always had. Downstairs, she could hear Stormy's whimpers stop, and she hoped that the pup was alright. He was her only source of solace in the fierce storm she had named him for. Her father hadn't been pleased when he found out they had inherited a dog. But at least he had left the pup alone, unlike the fate of her mother.

Her heart quickened when she heard his fierce shout directly below her upon finding her room vacant. She had never told anyone of her hiding place. No one. Except her Aniki.

She told her Aniki everything. Her fears, her pain, her frustration, and her terror. And he always protected her when she needed it the most. That was why she loved him so much with all her heart. Of course, she didn't even know what he looked like. She had been only 7 when she had last seen him. The only thing she remembered about him was his smile. The same smile she held when on the rare occasions she could bring herself to smile.

She couldn't even remember why her Aniki wasn't with her anymore. All she had to remember him by was some strange symbols carved into a small teardrop shaped polished stone dangling around her neck on a silk cord. She didn't know how she knew, she just did.

She tensed up again, holding her breath, and willing even her heart to stop beating as her father passed beneath her. She heard his thudded footfalls fade as he went down the stairs, and she heard the rumble of his motor, as he skidded off in his car. She must have waited a full hour before daring to move. Daring to uncurl her limbs from their stiff position that they had remained in for the past 5 hours.

And then she slowly lifted the portion of the ceiling away, and softly as a cat on it's feet, lowered herself to the ground.

It was quiet. Far too quiet.

Her eyes darted alarmed back and forth as she silently crept down the stairs, afraid that he might still be there. Afraid that he might have tricked her out of hiding. Her crimson eyes held fear in their brilliant depths, which usually were praised for their extraordinary beauty. Everyone always marveled at her eyes. They were naturally that color, and people found it astonishing. She could recall somewhere in the depths of her unconscious mind that her Aniki had had the same color as her. Even her hair, a near jet shade of black, held a mystic air to it. People often used to tease her about it, for in the light there was a hint of indigo blue in it. She was an enigma to many. But not to her father.

For some odd reason, he had never managed to touch her.

He always threatened it. He would throw things at her, but they would always miss. He would move as if to hit her, then change his mind. He would search about screaming her name, but never find her. He couldn't touch her.

But her mother…..

As she slowly reached the bottom of the stairs, still glancing around frightened, she saw her mother lying huddled in the far corner, a vase laying shattered around her feet, blood trickling from numerous cuts and slashes.

Moving quickly, Amy knelt beside her, reaching out to put a hand on her mother's shoulder and shaking her gently. She did so, again, again, again, again…..before finally, her mother's head slowly raised up and her eyes opened, staring dully back at her.

"Mother…." Her voice was a strangled sob. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she leaned forward and pulled her mother into a tight embrace. She could feel wetness with her fingers as she clutched her mother to her, and didn't bother looking to see what it was.

Then softly, gently and almost non-existent, her mother's voice floated to her ears. "A….my….pl….ease….run….away…..get …a…w…ay…."

Amy shook her head violently, sobs wracking her body in fierce waves. "NO! I won't leave you here! I won't, I won't, I wont'…"

Her mother gently raised a hand and placed it on her back, a gesture of a weak hug, before it slid limply to the ground with a dull thud, as her body went limp in Amy's grasp.

A low moan of sorrow escaped her lips, as she buried her face in her mother's still warm chest, crying long and hard, letting her grief and pain overwhelm her. She didn't even let go when she fell asleep still clutching her mother's body to her….

A cold nose was pressed into her hand and a low whine made her slowly open her eyes. Stormy was staring up at her with wide eyes, and a sorrowful frightened look in them, intelligence very rare in such a young pup.

Amy slowly sat up, gazing down at her mother's still cold form, and letting more tears fall endlessly down her cheeks again.

Then a sharp sound broke into her thoughts. She sat up startled, just in time to see the door break open, and see her father standing in the doorway, glaring hatefully down at her. "There you are you strumpet!" He started towards her, a bottle of whiskey in one hand, half full, his eyes bloodshot and red rimmed, a leering smile on his face. "Stay put now and I'll be nice."

Suddenly, a cold wash of anger flooded her mind in a sudden burst of fury. She stood up quickly, a boldness and calm demeanor on her face. Startled, this made her father pause and stare at her uncertainly. She merely squared her shoulders and stared him right in the eyes, the pup cowering behind her ankles, his small body shivering. In a flat, cold, expressionless voice, she spoke what she had been wanting to say for the many years since the abuse had begun. "Go to hell you bastard!"

A transformation of his features then went underway. From shock, anger flooded his face, turning it beet red and his eyes turning deadly white. She just returned his gaze expressionlessly, her hand gripped firmly on her pendant as he began taking large storming steps towards her.

She felt nothing. The world had ceased to exist to her. All she could see was a calm meadow, with someone sitting against a tree smiling welcoming at her, a lunch spread out on a cloth, and his smile. Her Aniki.

Of course, her father hadn't been expecting the crimson explosion of light that suddenly erupted from her and engulfed the entire house in a brilliant illumination. And he hadn't expected to see her vanish right before his eyes, leaving no trace behind her, even having Stormy vanish right beside her, like ghosts into twilight….

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><p>Her eyes opened slowly. She was staring at a raised ceiling with wooden beams. She blinked a few times, not sure if she was dreaming or not, before slowly sitting up in the bed that she was laying in. The room she was in was small, sparsely furnished, with a small paper covered window to her right. A small table was beside the large bed, and on it was a bowl of water and a cloth. Other than that, there was nothing else in the room, but the architecture alone was enough to make her look around confused. It was oriental in style, including lanterns with a candle flickering inside it.<p>

When she had sat up, Stormy had raised his head from it's resting position on her legs. He gaze up at her, his tail wagging happily that his mistress was awake at last. He immediately bounded over to her, and began washing her face with wiggles of joy and happy bubbling yips. She managed a smile and hugged him to her, managing to quelch his bathing of her face.

Then she heard footsteps and strange voices speaking outside the room, and before long the door was pushed open and two people stepped into the room. Immediately she tensed up, beginning to get over her wonder and having it replaced by fear.

The first man who stepped into the room looked over to her, then smirked and glanced at his fiery headed companion who held a tray of steaming food in his hands. Giving his dark haired companion a glare, the red-head stepped forward and placed the try on the small table beside the water bowl before turning to her and speaking in a rich mellow voice. "Daijoubu?"

She blinked, not understanding him. "What?"

The red-head looked confused for a minute, then frowned and spoke something rapid in that foreign tongue to her, then seeing her blank look threw a glance to his friend who promptly shrugged and folded his arms, replying in the same tongue.

She looked nervously between the two. They were dressed oddly. The dark haired one seemed to wear some over jacket and a head band. He also had a long scar running down his cheek, but his eyes danced merrily. He was leaning back against the wall observing her casually, but she felt no threat in his gaze. The other man had a full head of bright orangy red hair, and wore just a plain white shirt, but it was unlike any she had seen. It was loose, and buttoned on the side of his chest, and tied around his waist with a loose maroon piece of cloth. Both of them wore black pants with tall leather boots.

Seeing that she wasn't understanding him, he pointed to the tray and nodded to her. "Taberu." He then stood and looked down at her with his amber almond shaped eyes and smiled friendly at her, a pair of small fangs glistening, then turned and headed for the door, his darker haired companion exiting before him, and closing the door as they left.

She swallowed nervously and slowly pushed the blankets off of herself, sliding out of bed. She was still wearing her own clothes, though her jacket had been taken off and was laying across the foot of her bed. She cautiously stepped up to the tray, and examined the food. It was Chinese cuisine she discovered, complete with chopsticks to eat it with. Suddenly realizing she was famished, and having no idea where she was or why she was there, she decided that she couldn't be in a worse situation than she already was, and so hesitantly began to eat the food. It was delicious, and in a short time, gone.

When she had finished, she lay the chopsticks down, then wandered over to the window and slowly pushed it open. The sight before her astonished her profoundly. Outside, in the dim light of the fading sunlight, a huge range of mountains spread out beneath the structure. Small clouds dotted the crevices of the jagged peaks, and she could see the night birds beginning to stir around the trees. Feeling overwhelmed, she almost didn't hear the polite knock and the door opening.

She turned to see the red-head step in and smile at her. She turned to him and watched in amazement as Stormy bounded up to him with his tail wagging. The man seemed unsure of the dog, and glanced down with a strange expression on his face that was almost comical. She managed to smile as the man walked over to her tray and picked up some leftover meat and tossed it to the dog, who dashed after it yipping eagerly. He grinned then, and said something lightly in a joking voice winking at her. She managed to smile back, getting his gist.

Then he turned back to her and looked her up and down. She felt a feeling of hesitation and squirmed uncomfortable under his scrutiny. Noticing this, he just grinned again and looked back to the dog. He knelt down and stroked the pup's head, and promptly received many slobbers over his face, which made a disgusted comical look pass over his face, making her laugh softly. He gazed up at her and snorted, then grabbed a chair and sat backwards in it looking over at her. "Tasuki." He said pointing at himself.

She nodded and grabbed another chair and sat down as well crossing her legs casually, feeling slightly more comfortable around him now. "Amy." She said, with a faint smile.

He nodded and glanced at the pup with a raised eyebrow. She smiled and lowered her hands, and the pup bounded into them and she hugged him to her. "Stormy."

He nodded faintly, obviously wanting to ask her more, but not sure how to go about it. She herself had many questions, but with the language barrier, it was near to impossible. Deciding to try it anyway, she gestured around the room. "Where am I?"

He seemed to think for a moment then answered. "Leikaku-zan."

She wondered what that meant, obviously getting that it was her location, but what did that mean then? What country was she in if they spoke this weird language. "Is this China?"

He looked confused. "Naya?"

She sighed quietly and shook her head. "Never mind." She stroked the pup hesitantly not looking at Tasuki. There was something about him….she felt different looking at him than she had before. She wasn't sure what that meant.

Then he suddenly stood from the chair and gestured for her to do the same. "Iku." He grinned and nodded outside. She gathered he was going to show her around, and so stood with Stormy in her arms and nodded following him outside.

She was slightly startled when he opened the door and half a dozen other men, the dark haired one from before among them, scattered away looking like deer caught in the path of oncoming headlights. Tasuki snorted and shot something at them showing his fangs and glaring jokingly. The dark haired one sauntered up to him, and draped his arm around Tasuki's shoulder and grinned patting his back and speaking in a saucy joking voice. Tasuki shoved him away with a fierce blush rising to his face, and she caught the idea that the guys were teasing him about her, and this made her blush a bit, causing the other guys to laugh heartily. Tasuki just looked even more angry and stormed past them speaking something harshly, causing the guys to laugh more.

She stood there uncertainly, holding the pup and watching them. The dark haired one saw this, and put a hand on her shoulder and smiled warmly down at her. He said something in a warm voice and elbowed one of the guys in the ribs then winked at her. She had received the impression that while these men liked to joke, they wouldn't hurt her, and so she smiled tentatively as he nodded for her to follow Tasuki. She did so, glancing hesitantly back to see the dark haired man thwap a few guys on the head before dragging them off down the hall in the opposite direction.

Catching up with Tasuki, she saw his face was still red and his eyes avoiding hers, and that caused some merriment to rise up inside her. She smiled. "Your friends are interesting that's for sure."

He just looked at her, a disgusted look on his face having gotten that she was probably teasing him too and shrugged speaking something and grinning lightly.

They walked along silently, and she gazed out across the mountains now fairly dark and dim with the light vanishing with the day. The air was turning colder, and she wished she had brought her jacket, but shrugged it off. With each step, they seemed to come across new things that amazed her. By the time they had gone through the entire structure, she had come to the conclusion that this was a place consisting only of guys, and that was probably the reason they had teased Tasuki so much.

Then, they were back at her room again, and he stopped and leaned against the railing looking at a loss for words. She stood there, having put the pup down who was now snoozing at her feet, and just waited uncomfortable. There was so much she wanted to know. She sighed lightly and reached up to her neck where the pendant dangled, and hugged it with her hand wishing that her Aniki would help her through this.

Tasuki saw this, and raised an eyebrow. "Nan da?" He reached out a hand questioningly, and she hesitantly looked at him before untying the pendant and holding it out to him. He took it and looked at it. Then his eyes promptly widened in surprise and he looked sharply up at her. She blinked and gazed back confused. "What?"

He glanced down at the pendant, then stepped forward and held it out to her, pointing at the symbols. She looked up, a spark of hope shining in her eyes. "You can read it?"

He frowned slightly, and shrugged, then ran a finger over the symbols speaking something softly and almost reverently. She looked up at him, eyes pleading. "What does it say….I want to know so much. When someone can finally read it, I can't understand a word they say!"

He looked slightly startled at her tone of voice, pleading, desperate, and hopeful. He gazed back at her evenly his eyes looking her up and down questioningly, then a grin tugging at his mouth. "Yosha!" He handed it back to her, and she held it in her hands watching him questioningly. He spoke rapidly, pointing at her pendant, and then out across the mountains. He grinned at her, then walked to her bedroom door and opened it, gesturing for her to go in and bowing slightly to her. She hesitantly went in, glancing back as he said something, then smiled and shut it gently after her, and she heard his footsteps walk off.

Confused and worn out, she slowly walked over to her bed and sat down, petting Stormy absently as he bounded up to her wanting attention. She had no idea what was going on…apparently something on the pendant had made Tasuki become excited. She wondered what it said, and sighed quietly falling back on the bed with a thump and staring at the ceiling for a long time before slowly tugging her shoes off and sliding beneath the covers with Stormy snuggling beside her. It took her some time to fall asleep, but once she did, she slept well and soundly.

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><p>She was awoken abruptly by the door opening and a light shining in her face. She opened her eyes and squinted up, seeing Tasuki dressed in an over coat with some strange thing strapped to his back, a lantern in his hand and a grin on his face. "Ohayo! Mezate!" He threw something down on the bed as the crisp cold air wafted in causing her to shiver. "Hayaku ne." He placed the lantern down along with a small tray of something hot, and grinned, then closed the door, leaving.<p>

She shivered and got out of the warm covers and picked up the cloth he had thrown down, and found it to be a large jacket. She quickly put it on, though the sleeves were to long for her, and found it kept her quiet warm. She then ate the food, and had barely finished when Tasuki opened the door again and stepped in grinning widely. "Sumasete?"

She looked up with a questioning look on her face. "Where are we going?"

He just grinned wider and started out the door, turning to wait for her. Sighing, she whistled to the pup, and followed him, wrapping the warm coat around her as she stepped out into the cold air. She was slightly shocked to find a fine blanket of snow covering the ground. Following Tasuki through the halls, she gazed out and found she could see a lush green valley spread out beneath the mountains below. She could see that farms were spread all over, and marveled at the vastness of the landscape. She almost missed it when Tasuki turned a corner and stepped out into the snow.

She quickly caught up with him, almost slipping on the slippery patch on the steps when she saw two horses standing saddled and laden with supplies being held by the dark haired…BLUE? He had BLUE hair….. She rubbed her eyes just to make sure, and stared in astonishment. Blue hair…..He had dark blue hair…..Thoughtfully, she ran a hand through her own dark hair, and looked down, nearly jumping out of her skin when she saw that it's own indigo color was brighter than usual. There was no doubt about it, her hair was much bluer here than she had seen it before….

She suddenly snapped back to reality when she heard Tasuki ask her a question, and she glanced up to see all the men gazing at her bemused. She quickly smiled and shook her head. "Aaahh..I'm ok!" They shrugged and Tasuki turned to her and nodded to the horse, asking her a definite question. She glanced up at the horse uncertainly. She had been raised in the city. She had never ridden, let alone SEEN a horse in person before. She looked at him helplessly.

He snorted and the other guys began laughing teasingly, punching him in the arm, and his face reddened. He turned to her, and spoke in a serious voice to her nodding at the horse. She gathered he was asking if she'd try it, and hesitantly she nodded. "I guess, though if I don't stay on…." That seemed to be enough for him, and he knelt down making a cup with his hands for her to step on. She grasped the horse's mane, and put a foot in his hand, and nearly found herself flying up and over the horse as he boosted her. Luckily she managed to land in the saddle and straighten herself out, still sitting uncomfortably and glancing down at him. He was grinning up at her, until someone tugged his arm speaking to him. He glanced down and looked at the pup staring up at them with his tail wagging. He frowned slightly, then went over to her horse and tied another satchel on, then lifted the pup up and put him in, tying the bag around his neck loosely, so he could move, but not jump out of the bag. He grinned and winked at her, making her smile at him warmly.

Then he walked over to his own horse, and leaped onto it, jerking it around to face the others and shouting something to them. The all grinned and shouted something back and he nodded to her and started walking his horse down a path hidden in the snow. She nearly fell off when her horse started to move, and managed to maintain her balance by grabbing to the saddle and the mane of the horse. She held the reins, but didn't do anything with them since she really didn't' know how to control the horse in the first place.

And so they headed out. She glanced around admiring the view once she had gotten a hang of riding. They were making their way slowly down the mountain, Tasuki rambling off just to fill the silence, even if she didn't understand. She appreciated that, hearing his voice made her feel more at ease. She wondered where she was. Not that she minded, but she would like to know how she had gotten here, where here was, and what was going on. Tasuki seemed nice enough, and by now she had decided to trust him. She had little others to trust, and with her mother dead, she certainly had nothing back home to go back to.

Absentmindedly, she clutched the pendant to her wondering what was in store for her.

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><p>Tasuki pulled up his horse when a low rumble droned through the air. She pulled her own to a stop and looked around nervously. They had been riding most of the day, going who knows where, but they had passed beautiful fields, farmers working, and many new and interesting things that fascinated her because they were foreign, but yet something flickered in the back of her mind that stimulated something like a memory. It was new, yet somehow familiar, like she had experienced it in a dream before.<p>

But now, they were in the midst of a forest, and all afternoon it had grown constantly overcast and threatening. Now as thunder rumbled thickly, Tasuki sighed and glanced at her speaking calmly. She figured he was saying they'd better stop and make shelter, since the grove of trees they were in was fairly well sheltered.

He dismounted, and she slowly slid her leg over the side of the horse, and promptly found herself in a pile on the ground. Tasuki rushed over and knelt down next to her, a look of concern on his face. She smiled shakily, and accepted his hand and pulled herself to her shaking legs. They hurt like they had never hurt before. She nearly collapsed again, but managed to save herself by grabbing onto him for support. He seemed a bit surprised, but helped her to stand up more and grinned down teasingly speaking to her. She groaned but smiled. "Yeah, so I'm stiff. Is it always like this when you ride? Geeze." He shook his head in amusement, and making sure she could stand well enough now, he led the two horses to a nearby tree and tethered them. She leaned over and stretched her legs one by one, groaning as her muscles screamed at her. Then she hesitantly went over and untied the bag where the pup was curled up asleep in it. He had enjoyed riding about, and had pleasantly yipped at the animals as they had passed by. But after many hours of seeing these new sounds and smells, he had grown tired and curled up, pulling his head inside the sack and falling asleep. Now as she lifted him out, he yawned sleepily and stretched, then trotted off to a local tree to do his business.

She walked over to a tree, and sat down, groaning as her bottom ached from hours of riding. She didn't know if she could get on a horse again…..

She heard Tasuki approaching, and opened her eyes to see him dump a pile of sticks on the ground with some branches and grass. She crossed her sore legs and leaned forward as she heard another rumble of thunder. He crouched down arranging the wood, then reached back to the strange object that had been strapped to his back and pulled it out. It was a large metal fan of some sort, and she almost laughed aloud. "What are you going to do with that? Strike rocks against it? Or is it some cooking tool?"

He stared blankly up at her, confused by her joking demeanor, then grinned and gestured while speaking for her to back away. She did so, amused and watched with her arms crossed. He pointed the fan at the fire and said two words fiercely. "Lekka Shinen~!"

She nearly jumped out of her skin when the fan flared to life shooting flames into the wood, glowing a fiery color before fading, leaving the sticks burning with bright warmth. Tasuki grinned seeing her shocked expression, and laughed in that irritating way he tended to laugh. She smiled nervously. "Geeze…what next….fire from a fan….that's probably the weirdest thing I've seen." She shook her head, scratching the pup's head who had come seeking attention.

Tasuki crouched down by the fire arranging it a bit, then stood and grabbed something from the satchels on their horses and brought out some food. He heated it a bit sitting it on the fan over the fire to warm it, then passing it to her. She smiled her thanks and ate gratefully, completely famished. Ever since she had come here, her appetite had magnified completely. She had been eating more, and feeling entirely revitalized. As if she was back in her natural habitat…she then realized….she was happy. She really was. After so long, after so much pain and heartache, she had found a peaceful place where there were nice people who cared for her, despite that they couldn't understand one another or know who each other was other than names.

Tasuki gave a whistle and cried out to the pup who had gone off exploring. "Sutorumi! Kuru!" She couldn't help but laugh. The way he tried to pronounce Stormy's name was ludicrous. Of course he called her Ame since Amy was different. She couldn't help but laugh.

Tasuki stood up and looked about. The pup wasn't coming. That was unusual. She called out herself then, for he always came at her call. "Stormy! Here boy!" They waited, but still the pup didn't come. She frowned, beginning to be a bit worried. Tasuki shrugged and said something, then started off into the woods after the pup. "Be careful!" He grinned and winked, then disappeared into the darkness.

She sat there, the coat wrapped around her tightly for some time, listening to the rain patter softly down around outside the tight grove of trees. Lighting flashed occasionally, and thunder would rumble back and forth from time to time. She waited a long time, but still Tasuki didn't come back, and she began to worry about him. What if he had gotten lost or hurt? He was her only source of safety in this strange world, and if she lost him she didn't know what she would do. So she lay down and curled up by the fire, feeding it branches from time to time to keep it going, and eventually drifting off to sleep.

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><p>She woke with a start when she heard someone approaching, and lifted her head. "Tasuki? That you?" But her heart skipped a beat when she saw the form of someone who was not Tasuki come into the small grove. The firelight was dim, but she could tell it wasn't Tasuki, and she sat up pulling the coat around her feeling frightened. This man was slightly shorter, and wore a strange blanket draped over his shoulder, a wide brimmed conical hat, and carried a strange stick. He smiled as he stepped into the area and spoke in a friendly smooth tenor voice.<p>

She watched him uncertainly, and then realized the man was soaked to the bone. Then she heard a small pitiful mew, and both the man and herself looked down to where a small feline head poked out of his blanket, also soaked. He spoke softly and picked the cat up from his hiding spot, and gently set him down on the ground next to the fire. Smiling, Amy watched the cat shake it's self off spreading water everywhere getting droplets on herself, and causing her to laugh softly. The man also laughed, and removed his hat which hadn't kept the rainwater from leaking through onto his head very much, since his hair was plastered to his head.

She smiled and gestured for him to sit down. "I'll get a blanket for you and your cat." He looked up at her curiously as she spoke and walked over to the horses and pulled out a couple of blankets and tossed them to him. He smiled gratefully and picked the cat up in one and ruffled it's fur dry then wrapped it around it and put the cat by the fire. The cat promptly sat down, wiggled out of the blanket, and began washing itself. She smiled and tossed some more wood on the fire as the man removed his sopping wet blanket and wrung out his shirt as best he could before wrapping the blanket she had given him around himself. He then smiled at her, a rather comical effect. It seemed this man's face was ever smiling, his eyes were turned up in the most peculiar way making it seem like his face was frozen in a sunny smile. He spoke to her, and she could hear the gratitude in his voice, and she smiled and nodded slightly. He then asked a question and watched her reaction.

She shook her head uncomprehendingly. "I'm sorry, I don't understand." The man seemed to nod at this, and reached up to a strange set of beads around his neck and made some strange gesture, grunting slightly as his hand moved. Then he lifted his head back towards her. "This better no da?"

Her mouth promptly fell open in astonishment. "You….you can speak my language?"

He chuckled slightly and a small smile tugged at his mouth. "Not really. I just used my magic to act as a translator no da."

She blinked. "Magic?"

He nodded and ran a hand through is dripping wet hair, squeezing some water out of it. "Yes."

She realized that what he said was true. Though his words came out in English, his mouth was moving in a different pattern. It reminded her of watching old movies from foreign countries that were dubbed into English. Relieved, though she was still having a hard time coping with the idea of magic, she smiled. "Well, thank goodness. I was about to go insane cause no one could understand me around here!"

He nodded and smiled again. "I can understand how that would be hard on you no da." He rung out his blanket and stood and draped it on a low tree branch to dry. "Thank you for letting me borrow your fire no da."

"No problem. I'm glad for the company." Then she thought of something suddenly. "Say, you haven't seen a guy with red hair and a metal fan attached to his back wandering around have you?"

The man turned looking surprised. "Tasuki? You mean Tasuki?"

It was her turn to look surprised now. "Yeah! You know him?"

He nodded, a fond smile flickering onto his face and a look of nostalgia arising. "Hai! Tasuki's a close friend of mine no da! I haven't seen him for a while though no da." He chuckled. "Well, strange that our paths may cross here no da!" He sat back down stroking the cat who promptly climbed into his lap and began purring.

"Great!" She grinned. "He's a nice guy, even if I couldn't understand him. Say, what's your name?"

"Ah! Forgive me for being impolite no da. I'm Chichiri no da. And this is Tama-chan."

She smiled. "Hello there Tama-chan." She scratched behind his ears and the cat lazily licked the tip of her finger and purred louder. She smiled and sat back. "He's cute." Then her smile vanished. "I had a dog…..his name is Stormy, but he wandered off somewhere and Tasuki went to go look for him…." She glanced out into the woods. "He's been gone for a long time….I'm really worried."

Chichiri frowned and lowered his head slightly, his hand moving to his necklace again. She watched him as he frowned slightly in concentration, then looked back up. "I can barely pick his ki up….. he's some distance away no da…." Chichiri looked worried. "I can't say for sure where he is though no da…."

She felt her heart quicken in fear. "God….what happened to him….." Her voice shook slightly, enough to make Chichiri lay a hand on her shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry. I'm sure he's ok no da. Tasuki gets into trouble often, but he can take care of himself, don't worry no da." Chichiri smiled at her. "It's a mess out there tonight no da….why don't we catch some sleep, then we can go after him in the morning no da?"

She nodded slowly, hearing the wisdom in his words. "Yeah….yeah you're right. I guess there's nothing we can do tonight…." She sighed and moved over closer to the fire and lay down staring into it. "I guess we'll just have to wait."

Chichiri sprawled out on the ground opposite her. She could just barely make out his face on the other side of the flames. "I wouldn't worry about him no da. If he were in trouble, then I would know it no da."

She looked over at him lazily. "You two are close aren't you?"

He smiled fondly and propped his head up on one elbow. "Well, we've been through a lot together no da."

She smiled and folded her arms under her chin watching the fire. "Like?"

He chuckled and shook his head. "We are both something called Seishi no da. We have special abilities, and were chosen to help protect the land's guardian when she came no da. That all ended a little over a year ago, and we went our own ways no da."

She nodded slightly, not really understanding. "So….that metal fan that shoots fire? Is that his ability?"

Chichiri nodded. "Yes, it's called a tessen, and Tasuki uses that as his weapon no da."

"And a convenience to light fires."

He laughed. "And that too no da."

She smiled and closed her eyes sleepily. "And yours is magic?"

"Yes."

"Mmm…" She felt warm and drowsy. The world was swirling around her in many different colors, and she smiled to herself as it faded away. She could vaguely hear Chichiri's soft voice saying goodnight before she fell asleep beneath the canopy of trees.


	2. Chapter 2

**_Aniki_  
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By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Tasuki's foul mouth  
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_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
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_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

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><p><strong>Standard disclaimer:<strong>_ These characters aren't mine they're created by the wonderful Watase Yuu, although I wish they were, Houjun-chan is such a hottie! So don't sue me, I need o-ka-ne right now..._

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><p>She awoke to the sound of sizzling and the pungent smell of cooked trout. Her eyes opened slowly, and she saw the bright sunlight of the morning streaming down through the trees in beams and shafts of golden light. She turned her head and saw Chichiri turning a spit with some fish speared through it over the fire. He saw she was awake and smiled warmly, his funny face cheery. "Good morning no da!"<p>

She smiled in return and slowly sat upright, instantly wincing as she did so. "Aaaahh…..I didn't know riding a horse would be so…..painful!"

He chuckled and nodded. "Haven't ridden before no da?"

"Nope, I'm a city girl." She slowly managed to stand, and did some stretching before she felt slightly better. "My legs feel as if they're locked in a bowlegged position."

He simply grinned and pulled the fish off, then slid them off one by one into a small bowl filled with some sauce, exclaiming a bit as he burned his fingers a bit getting them off. He then placed the bowl near the fire and filled a glass with some hot tea that had been stewing on the side, and offered it to her.

"Thanks." She took it and sipped it slowly, savoring the warmth that flowed through her sleepy body. "Mmm….this is good!" She smiled and looked up at him. And she blinked. Here was another person with blue hair….but his was light, almost the color of the sky. And now that it was dry, it stuck up in a ludicrous manner almost defying gravity.

He caught her silence, and glanced down. "You ok no da?"

She nodded faintly, the laughed softly. "Yeah, just I've seen a lot of people with blue hair around recently…..it's….strange."

He looked slightly amused. "What do you mean no da? Your hair has a blue tint to it as well no da."

She nodded and laughed. "Yeah, that's what I mean! At home, I was unusual. Everyone wanted to know if I dyed it. I kept getting odd looks when I said it was natural, so I just started saying I dyed it. But seeing other people….like me…."

He looked thoughtful but then smiled and shrugged. "Well, personally I think blue hair is attractive no da, but that's a biased opinion no da." He winked at her with a joking smile.

She laughed in return and nodded. "Yeah, but I agree with you, so I guessed it's a biased reply too!" They both laughed at that. She was taking a liking to the mysterious magic user. He was nice. She was beginning to really like being in this world.

"Anyway, we best eat and be on our way. Who knows where Tasuki is about now no da." He dished out the marinated trout and handed her a plate.

She thanked him, and ate using the chopsticks he had pulled out of the bag from somewhere. "Man! This is good! Really good Chichiri!"

He smiled and she swore she could see a slight blush raise up his neck. "Thank you. Unfortunately, the only thing I can make well is fish and tea no da." He smiled. "Comes from being a wanderer who likes to fish for a hobby no da."

She smiled. "That's ok. I rarely got any fish at home. It's a pleasant treat for me."

He smiled, having finished his plate by now and was picking up Tama-chan's finished plate. "If I may ask, where do you live no da. It's obvious you're not from around Konan no da." She paused, her smile fading, and he immediately stopped what he was doing. "Oh, I'm really sorry…..I have no business asking you that. You don't have to tell me."

"No….it's ok. I can't hide from it….but all I can tell you is that I am NOT going back there. I have nothing to go back to…..I don't even know how or why I came here. But it's a hell of a lot better than where I was before."

He nodded seriously, not pushing the issue and took her plate and cleaned it using some water in a pot he'd gotten from wherever he had gotten the fish. She finished her portion, and he then washed the remaining dishes and put them back in the satchel on Tasuki's horse. She, in the meantime, was scuffing dirt on the fire and dumping the remainder of the water on top of it. When they were certain the fire was out, she gathered her things, and Chichiri pulled his oddly patterned blanket from it's drying branch, and shook it out, then reattached it around his shoulder.

"What's that for, if I may be so bold?" She had been wanting to ask him that for some time, quite bemused by him. He had said he was a wanderer, but he certainly was the most unique person she'd met so far.

He turned and brushed some of the cloth off. "This no da? This is my kesa na no da." Seeing her blank look, he elaborated. "I'm a Zen Buddhist monk no da. It's part of our tradition to wear kesas similar to this one no da."

"Ahh!" She nodded, now understanding the stick as well. She recalled vaguely somewhere that Buddhist monks wore sashes, though she recalled them being orange robes….but then he had said Zen, so maybe that was different. She nodded. "Ok, now I get it. I just was confused as to why you liked wearing a blanket around your shoulder." She grinned lopsidedly to show it was a joke, and he smiled in return looking amused. "A blanket no da? I suppose it might look like that no da!" He chuckled. "Never thought of it like that before no da."

She smiled, and lifted herself up onto the horse with a grunt and groan as her stiff legs complained. "Yeah, and what's with your speech? Is that part of your vows too?"

He blinked, and hoisted himself up onto Tauski's horse and turned it towards her. "Er…no actually it's just the way I like to talk no da." He smiled and wheeled his horse around and started off in a direction. "Tasuki's ki is this way no da. He seems to have moved a bit farther away no da, but luckily I can still sense him no da." He started down a path, and she pulled her horse alongside his and they started their trek.

"I hope Tasuki's ok….." Her voice must have held some strength of worry, because Chichiri leaned over and gave her arm a pat. "Don't worry. Tasuki has a habit of getting in trouble a lot no da, but he's tough. He probably just got lost in the storm, and had to find shelter for the night elsewhere no da."

She nodded slightly, a nagging feeling still inside her chest. If anything had happened…

She spoke suddenly, breaking the silence she'd created. "Chichiri, tell me about this world…..I'm dying to know where I am. I couldn't ask Tasuki, cause he never understood me…..I've got this weird feeling like I've been here before. Well, not this particular place maybe, but somehow…..just the atmosphere in this world seems so familiar…."

Chichiri smiled, and began telling her all about Konan, and the four countries, the legends, everything that could be known about the land. She listened with rapt attention. He was a vast source of information, she discovered. He had been all over the world practically, and knew every inch of Konan by heart. When he got into the legend of Suzaku no Miko, she was fascinated to learn that the girl Miaka had been from Japan. So apparently she wasn't the only one who seemed to come and go into this world. He told her about their battles, about the other Seishi, about the romance between the Seishi Tamahome and Miaka. About the final battle with Tenkou, about seeing each Seishi who had been killed in their reborn form. She could see his face glow when he spoke of that. It must have been a wonderful thing to see those he had known and cared for start a new life of their own, happily. He told her a bit about his life when she asked, and she learned about the dispute he had had with his best friend, and that it had been resolved during one of the battles, and that since that time he had begun living happier and feeling freer than before. She was curious though when he mentioned that he had been scarred in that fight, and looked over curious at him. He noticed that, and smiled, reaching up to his face and removing a mask that had been covering it, showing her his real face beneath. She was amazed at the mask. "Dang…..it looked so real! I mean, it did, but it didn't….geeze I don't make sense do I?"

His mouth turned up a bit in a smile, his good eye crinkling in humor. "Don't worry about it no da. A lot of people say just the same thing no da."

She smiled and shrugged. "Ok, just so long as it doesn't bother you." She smiled warmly. "I think you look better without it…..you remind me of someone…." Her voice died off as she frowned trying to pinpoint who he reminded her of.

He looked amused and raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Really no da?"

She threw her hands up in frustration. "Ahhhrrrgggg. I can't think of who you remind me of! Damn it….." She did a fake pout, crossing her arms in front of her. "This is so frustrating! Everything reminds me of something, but I can't think of what!"

He chuckled at that shaking his head. "Sorry! I wish I could be of more help no da!"

She sighed and smiled shaking her head. "Nah, forget about it. It's sorta nice in a way. I mean, I feel like I've known you for a long time….I feel welcome and that makes me feel really good."

He smiled genuinely, and she felt another twang of familiarity. "Well, thank you no da. You know, in a way you also remind me of a little sister I once had no da."

She looked over curious. "Really? What happened to her?"

He looked sad for a moment. "I lost her and the rest of my family in that flood I told you about. She died in it as well."

Amy felt her heart go out to him. He had lost everyone he cared for…until he met the other Seishi, then he lost all of them but Tasuki….he seemed so lonely all of a sudden. She leaned over and put a hand on his shoulder, balancing precariously over their horses. "I'm sorry….I know what it's like to be alone….." He glanced over at her slightly, and she continued. "My family wasn't the closest…My dad beat my mother a lot, and hated me…I really never had anyone to be close to myself….." She fingered her pendant. "Except my Aniki….but I don't even know who he is, or what happened to him…..So I talk to him, and I feel like he's beside me….." She smiled fleetingly at him. "So I know what you've gone through."

He smiled and put his hand on hers squeezing it lightly. "Thank you. I appreciate that. It has been hard, but it must have been more difficult for you living like you did."

She shrugged. "It's in the past. I hope with luck I can find a better place here to stay. If so, I can forget about everything before. I'll be happier that way."

He looked less than convinced. "Forgetting your past isn't the answer. You can't accomplish anything from that."

She frowned. "Why not? If forgetting makes me happy then why shouldn't I do it?"

He sighed and shifted his gaze to the surrounding fields. "Well….if you wipe out what caused you pain, then something important in your life will me missing. You don't have to relish in remembering it, just recognize it's there." He turned back to her and gave a small smile. "Your past is part of you. You can never separate it from you, no matter how much you want to some times."

She stared out for a while to the scenery around them, then nodded slowly savoring his advice. She though about it for a while, then slowly spoke. "I understand what you're saying….I don't know if I entirely agree with it. I'll have to think it over a bit."

He nodded in understanding and reached up to put the mask back on, but she stopped him with a movement of her hand. "You can't hide from your past you know." She winked at him, and he stared at her a bit, then smiled and chuckled, but lowered his hand back. "Hai! You're right no da."

She smiled and they continued on down the road for a bit in silence, but a warm silence come from cementing a friendship.

After some time, the road took a bend and they could see a small town nestled in a valley down below them. Chichiri pulled his horse up and stopped. "Tasuki's ki is down there." However, his voice sounded slightly worried.

She frowned anxiously. "What is it? What's wrong?"

He shook his head slightly. "His ki is fainter than usual. It would seem he's injured no da." She felt her heart jump at that, and saw the tension on Chichiri's face as well.

"Well…what should we do?"

He spurred his horse off. "Well, we should find him and discover the truth no da." He started down the hill at a fast lope, and her horse immediately followed, much to her horror as she clung desperately to stay on.

She was desperately relieved when the horse finally came to a trotting halt in town as his horse slowed and stopped outside a cottage. After catching her breath, she tried to glare at him. "Don't EVER do that again…I nearly got killed!"

He didn't turn, but spoke an apology. "Sorry bout that no da….." He walked up to the door, put his mask back on, and composed himself before rapping on the door politely.

She managed to dismount and join him just as the door was cracked open and a woman peered out at the pair uncertainly. "Can I help you?"

Chichiri bowed politely. "Excuse me Ma'am, but we're in search of a friend of ours no da. He left during a storm last night and must have gotten lost no da. We were wondering if you've seen a man with red hair and a metal fan, perhaps accompanied by a dog no da?"

The woman seemed to relax a bit, and then pouted in worry. "Ah, yes, he's staying here in this house." She slid herself out of the door, closing it slightly behind her. "My husband found him last night as he was returning from visiting a town….I'm afraid he's….hurt fairly badly…." Her voice trailed off and she glanced nervously at the two. The fact that Chichiri was a monk, and his companion was a small innocent looking girl made her feel more at ease, but it was obvious she didn't want them to think she had harmed him. "He found him at the bottom of the embankment to our property. We took him in, but I think several of his ribs may be broken…."

Chichiri nodded, concern showing on his face. "I see….may we see him then no da? If he is hurt, we know a friend who can heal him no da."

The woman nodded and opened the door for them, and ushered them in. The minute Amy stepped into the small room, Stormy came bounding up yipping eagerly and jumping up all over her. She laughed and bent down embracing the pup happily, relieved that he was ok.

Chichiri followed the woman over to the bed where Tasuki lay sleeping, his face pale and wan, his breaths coming in shudders. He knelt down and pushed the covers back, lifting Tasuki's shirt up and feeling gently on his side, and his ribcage. He sighed and removed his hand, standing up. The woman and Amy watched him worriedly. "How is he?" Amy hoped he was ok….something inside of her cried out at seeing Tasuki hurt like this.

Chichiri shook his head. "He has several broken ribs that I can feel no da…. He may have other injuries judging from the severe bruising here….." He glanced over at her. "He probably went after your dog and tripped or slid down a bank in the darkness no da…"

Amy felt a cold dread in her chest. This was her fault that Tasuki was hurt like this….she should have gone after Stormy….she knew him better and he was her pet…..She felt tears well up, and one spill down her cheek. Chichiri must have seen this, because he moved to her side and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It's ok no da….I told you I have a friend who can heal him right up no da." His voice was soothing, and she nodded steeling herself to be strong for this. If he said it could be fixed, then it could.

Chichiri turned to the woman and bowed. "I thank you deeply for caring for him no da. Is there anything you need in return for your kindness no da?"

The woman smiled and shook her head. "No, it was my pleasure. We would never let an injured soul go untended. And please, don't think of repayment. I won't hear of it." The woman smiled at him and nodded. "Just knowing he'll be safe is enough sir….I don't believe I caught your name…"

Chichiri smiled and bowed slightly. "Ah, forgive me. My name is Chichiri, and this is Amy, and our friend there is Tasuki no da."

The woman blinked once, then looked shocked. "A…ano…..you mean the….Suzaku Shichisei?" She immediately bowed deeply before them. "I'm so sorry! I'm so very sorry I didn't realize….."

Chichiri took her hand gently. "Please don't." he said in a soft gently voice. "We were once Seishi. That duty is now past and we are just ordinary people no da. I'm grateful to you for saving him no da."

The woman looked up, and smiled seeing his kind gaze and nodded. "Hai, demo it is still an honor Chichiri-sama." She stood. "Can I offer you two something to eat or drink before you go?" She headed off towards the kitchen before they could speak.

Amy watched her go, then looked at him questioningly. "Should we invade on her like this?"

He shook his head. "The least we can do is accept her offer no da. It would be rude not to. But why don't we think of something we might do to help her out while she's busy no da….we need to repay her somehow no da, it's only fair."

Amy nodded. "Yeah….what about like fixing the house up and everything? It's pretty run down and impoverished….don't you think that might help her a bit?"

Chichiri nodded. "Hai, that would be simple to do no da." He smiled and straightened back up as the woman re-entered with a jug of hot tea.

"Well, here please sit and have some tea before you leave, it's the least I can do for you." She handed them the cups and poured the tea.

Chichiri bowed slightly and thanked her, as did Amy and they sipped the tea and chatted a bit with the woman. It turned out that her husband had left earlier this morning to find the doctor, but he had been out of town and so her husband had gone to a neighboring village to find one. She laughed and shook her head saying he would be surprised to find them gone when he returned.

When they had finished their tea, Chichiri unbuckled his kesa and lay it flat on the ground spread out. Amy wondered what he was up to, but stayed back holding Stormy and watching as he gently lifted Tasuki with the help of the woman and placed him laying down on the kesa. Then he turned back and again bowed gratefully to the woman. "I appreciate your hospitality for us no da. Now we will repay you in our own way since it is only fair that we do so no da."

She adamantly shook her head. "No, no it isn't necessary, I assure you! It was my honor to…"

He gently cut her off and smiled at her. "Please, I insist no da."

She looked embarrassed, but nodded and bowed her head slightly. "Hai, of course Chichiri-sama."

He smiled and winked at Amy, who gave him a thumbs up in return, then he concentrated briefly and then a soft crimson glow encompassed the room about them, causing the woman to look around awed and slightly frightened. When it died away, the room was clean, the broken objects were fixed, and it was neat and tidy, even her clothes she wore were as if they were new. She gasped in amazement, her eyes lighting up in wonder and gratitude, and turned towards the two and immediately bowed low. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

He smiled and then simply struck the end of his staff on the kesa, and it began to glow in a pale light, and Tasuki sunk mysteriously into it. He indicated for Amy to follow, and she hesitantly stepped onto the glowing spot and found herself sinking into it like it was thick water. But as it went over her head, she could see brilliant light all around before it faded into a pleasant blackness and she found herself drifting lazily, when suddenly everything jumbled at a point as she hit bottom….hard.

She opened her eyes to find herself seated on the ground in a beautiful place. It was like being in paradise. There were waterfalls spilling out of emerald covered mossy rocks, sending droplets of mist flying into the air. There were strange bubbles of every color hovering around like someone had taken bubble solution and blown some, the frozen them in place. It was astonishing.

She turned as she heard a stifled groan beside her, and saw Chichiri sit up rubbing his head. "I really have to work on arrivals no da…."

Somehow, the way he said that just made her burst out in laughter. He stared slightly at her for a short time, then a smile tickled at his lips and he began chuckling as well. Soon the both of them were laughing heartily, clutching their sides and helplessly lost in giggles.

"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?"

She gave a startled yelp, and Chichiri nearly fell over backwards as an extremely ancient woman appeared floating in front of them glaring dangerously. She just stared. That had to be the UGLIEST woman she'd ever seen….

"Aah…T-Taiitsukun." Chichiri managed to stammer out still smiling and fighting back his laughter. "Gomen…we er…that is, Tasuki's injured and we need your help no da."

The old woman looked cross, but seemed slightly pleased at what she was seeing and snorted mildly. "Is that all I'm good for?" But she snapped her fingers and suddenly out of nowhere several small girls all looking exactly alike popped into existence around them like bubbles. "Fix Fix, Cure, Cure!" The swarmed around Tasuki and carried him off faster than she could blink, then one stepped up to her. "You need fix?"

Amy smiled warmly looking into the aqua innocence of the child, but feeling an awe there as well. "No thank you, I'm not hurt."

The child turned her cute face up at her and examined her. "No, Nyan Nyan fix your memory."

She blinked in astonishment. "What?" My memory? What does that mean?

Nyan Nyan looked at her with serious eyes before Taiitsukun shooed her away with an irritated, "Don't bother our guests!"

She glanced at Chichiri questioningly as he stood brushing himself off and gathering his other things. Apparently they had left the horses at the woman's home, and she hoped that her family could find use for them. She then stood up, her mind still full of questions and looked around, seeing Stormy busy sniffing things just a bit away.

Taiitsukun was floating on ahead, and Chichiri was following her a short distance behind as the old woman spoke. "I have some things I want you to do while you're here Chichiri. You may have passed my final exam, but you're still my student."

Amy chuckled inside when she heard him murmur "Yes ma'am" and she wondered what sort of "things" she had in store for the monk. She ran up and caught up with them, Stormy on her heels. "Um….what about me?"

Taiitsukun looked at her. "What about you?"

She shifted nervously under the old woman's gaze. "Well….I mean.."

She snorted. "Go stay with Tasuki and make up your mind girl!" And with that she floated off with Chichiri lagging just a moment to whisper to her. "Go on, go for it no da." He smiled and patted her back gently before following the Creator.

She blushed, watching them go off and wondered why they were acting like that…She simply shook her head, and followed them into the palace and followed the exclaiming voices to where Tasuki was laying in a bed with the Nyan Nyans around him. She smiled at seeing him, and the Nyan Nyans looked up as she entered, chattered something, and poofed out of existence leaving her alone with him.

She slowly sat beside him. She gazed down, amazed at how perfect he seemed. She nearly blushed at the thought. What was she thinking? She paused, and then sighed. But he was asleep….so there was no one who would know….though it seemed Chichiri and the old hag already did….She blushed again to herself.

She watched his slow breathing, a rhythmical up and down that made shivers run down her spine. His hair fell so perfectly across his face, little strands of orange simply drifting over his almond shaped eyes. His lips were open slightly, and needless to say he wasn't snoring….but she could see his tiny cute fangs glistening in the soft light. She couldn't stop staring…..he was so….perfect.

Then slowly she saw his eyes blink once….and she held her breath as they slowly opened, revealing their amber depths. He blinked, his eyes focusing on her and a small smile tugging at his lips. "Hey."

The fact that suddenly she could understand him threw her whole mind into complete turmoil. Now she could talk to him…and he could understand her. But somehow, some mischievous glint crept into her eyes. She smiled down at him softly, and spoke purposely in another language. "Bonjour."

She watched with some amusement as he sighed and grinned lopsidedly. "Damn this is frustrating…." He tried to sit up, but looked pale, and she pushed him back down. He let out a sigh. "Where the hell are we, huh? Last thing I remember was not finding anything beneath my feet…"

She smiled and decided it wasn't fair treating him like this. "We're at Taiitsukun's place."

She nearly laughed out loud at the expression of astonishment on his face. "W…What the hell? You can fucking speak my language now?" His eyes shot sparks for a second, then died down. "Taiitsukun's huh? That must mean…"

His words died off as Chichiri walked into the room with a meal and set it on the table, then turned and appraised him. "You should watch your step Tasuki-kun."

The red-head smirked and glared up at his friend. "Ah, and it's good ta see ya to Chichiri…."

Chichiri smiled genuinely at him and shook his head in amusement. "I have work to do, so I'll let you to alone for a bit no da." He smiled and then left the room again.

Tasuki sighed and smirked. "Damn monk….ahh…so, hi." He looked up at her, curiously. "It was Amy, right?"

She smiled and stood, walking over and starting to dish out the food for two people. "Yeah. Amy. And you're Tasuki. Glad to meet you."

He grunted and slowly sat up, then slid out of bed. He was just wearing his pants, and Amy could still see the sore places that were rapidly disappearing on his skin. "You gonna be ok? I mean, you were pretty badly hurt."

He shrugged. "Naa, nothing I can't handle. I've had worse."

She shrugged and sat down at the table, and he joined her. She sat there waiting while he started eating, then joined him trying to think up something appropriate to say. Finally she sighed and laid the chopsticks down. "I'm sorry."

He looked up startled. "Fer what?"

She didn't look at him. "It's my fault you were injured….I should have gone after Stormy instead of you. It's my fault you got hurt."

He snorted. "Don't be stupid. You were all sore and stuff. And I wasn't about to let ya go out into the woods by yerself looking for that pup without some weapon. It ain't yer fault."

She slowly looked up at him, feeling still guilty despite his words. "Still, I feel it's something of my responsibility…."

He put his chopsticks down. "Oi, don't do that guilt trip…yer beginning to sound like the monk." He gave her a wry look. "Course no reason why you shouldn't."

She looked confused. "What?"

He shook his head. "Ah, never mind. Forget it." He resumed eating.

She frowned slightly and fingered her pendant lightly. Then something occurred to her. "Oh, by the way, when you looked at this…" she held it up and he glanced at her. "…you were really excited about something….You can read it, can't you? What did it say?"

He paused and leaned back finished eating, then looked at her for a long time. Then finally he spoke. "Can I ask you where you got it first?"

She nodded. "I've had it ever since I can remember. I don't know how I actually got it, only that it belonged to my Aniki. I've always thought of it as a memory of him…" She looked up at him cautiously. "You can read it, can't you?"

He nodded slowly.

"What does it say?"

He closed his eyes, then sighed and held a hand out. She untied it and handed it to him. He peered at the back again, then looked over at her. "It says, "To my beloved Ameshi" and it's signed "Houjun"." He handed it back to her.

She frowned staring at the characters for a while, then looked up at him. "What does that mean?"

He watched her for a bit longer, then a grin poked his lips into a smirk. "Well, I don't know really, though I do know a "Houjun"."

She looked up at him, hope in her eyes. "Really? You know who wrote this?"

He cocked his head. "Well I dunno if it's just a coincidence or not. I don't know many Houjuns, but if ya wanna know more about him, talk to Chichiri."

She looked slightly surprised. "Chichiri? Why, does he know him?"

Tasuki nodded. "Yeah. He knows him better than I do."

She stared at the pendant for a while, running it through her fingers again and again. Finally she nodded and stood up. "Ok. I'll go talk to him. Thank you Tasuki….Thank you so much." She blushed slightly, then before her nerves could fail her, she leaned over and kissed him quickly on the cheek, and ran out the door before he could react.

Tasuki sat there rather stunned, watching her depart, a look of shock on his face. He slowly raised a hand to his cheek where her lips had touched, and wore a dazed look for a moment, as his eyes glazed over after her departing figure.

Her heart was beating hard against her ribcage. She couldn't believe she'd done something like that…How could she? He must be mad at her now…..Feeling tears well up from embarrassment, she ran out into the gardens out back and collapsed on a bench, staring at the pendant in her hands. She let her breath calm down, as her pulse continued to race. What was happening to her? Why did she feel so lightheaded?

Her reverie was broken when she heard familiar voices speaking not far away. She stood, and walked towards them, and found Chichiri and Taiitsukun kneeling, well Chichiri was kneeling anyway Taii was floating, in the sand by the large pool with a fountain in the middle of it. Chichiri was tracing something in the sand, and Taiitsukun would occasionally bring her stick down on top of his head, and he would yelp a bit looking up at her tiredly.

"NO! Wrong! Do it again! Concentrate! I can't believe you've lost this much focus in seven years! Do it over!"

She stifled a small giggle as his shoulders hunched in fatigue. He had peeled his shirt off, since it was hot in the sun, his face was drenched with sweat since his mask was off, and she could see his shoulders and back were sunburnt. It was obvious he was tired, yet Taiitsukun made him continue on and on. Amy felt sorry for him.

Then Taiitsukun turned her head in Amy's direction and sighed. "Ok, fine. Enough for now. You have a guest." And with that she vanished into thin air and Chichiri looked up in her direction with a weary smile. "Hi. How'd it go?"

She stepped out from behind the tree she'd been leaning against as he slowly stood up brushing himself off and rubbing the back of his red neck and wincing a bit. She smiled and shrugged as he put his shirt back on, and they both moved to the shade where it was cooler. "I don't know…..I'm glad he's ok…but there's something about him….." She blushed. "I feel different when he's around."

Chichiri smiled leaning against a tree casually. "I see. And?"

She blushed. "Well….I don't know….I…I kissed him briefly." She looked up at him questioningly. "Is that wrong?"

He chuckled and sat down beside her. "No, of course not no da. You like him."

She looked at her clasped hands. "Yeah….I do."

He nodded. "And you let him know that then no da."

She nodded. "But I feel like….I don't know….embarrassed I guess."

He smiled at her, his eye dancing. "Of course no da. It's a natural reaction no da. You feel flushed, shy, and nervous around him, right no da?"

She nodded again. "Yeah. That's exactly how it is."

"Then I wouldn't worry. Let him know you like him. I should warn you however, Tasuki claims to hate women no da."

She laughed softly. "Oh he does, does he? Maybe that's why the guys were teasing him so much back at his place."

He chuckled softly. "They might do just that no da."

She smiled fondly, her gaze falling back to the pendant in her hands. Then she remembered what Tasuki had said. "Ne, Chichiri… Tasuki told me you might be able to help me about this pendant." She held it out to him, and he took it, peering at it curiously.

"Suzaku…" His voice came to her, soft and low, and she looked up to see his face had gone pale and his eye wide staring at the writing.

"Tasuki said that you know this "Houjun" that's written on it…."

He slowly raised his eye to meet hers and she could see sadness and worry in his eye. "How….did you get this?"

She hesitated at his expression, then spoke slowly. "I've had it since I can remember….."

He closed his eye, then opened it again, staring at the pendant. "Hai…..I know this Houjun…..you see…this Houjun gave this pendant to his younger sister when she was a small child as a birthday present….." His voice died off and she suddenly felt a cold wash of realization flow through her. He looked up at her very slowly, examining her. "Who are you…..really…."

She blinked back at him, then spoke hesitantly. "You….You're Houjun, aren't you." He nodded. "But…."

He looked down at the pendant, running his fingertips over the symbols. "I carved this back when I was only 13. I gave it to my sister Ameshi…..I called her Ame for short…." His voice caught, and he looked up at her sharply, his mahogany eye watching her critically.

She ran the name over her lips slowly. "Ame….Ame….A….Amy….." She was shaking at this sudden realization….she didn't know how it was possible, but somehow she knew it inside herself to be the truth…..But she needed to find out. "What's your last name?" Her voice held a small bit of pleading in it.

Almost in a whisper, his eye locked on hers he spoke. "Ri…"

Her heart nearly stopped. Ri…..Lee…they were alike…..was it possible? She swallowed slowly and looked up at him almost fearfully. "But….I thought you said….she…died in a flood…."

He watched her uncertainly, hope flickering in his eye. "I though she did….My village was washed away very suddenly, and I never found my family's bodies because a lake is now where my village used to be…..most of the villager's bodies were never found…."

She stared at him disbelieving…this wasn't happening….."How….long ago was that?"

"8 years ago…."

Her breath caught again as her heart beat a cadence in her chest. 8 years ago….that would be about where her memories grew foggy…she glanced at him, hope flaring in her eyes. "A….Aniki….."

She saw a tentative smile creep onto his face, and as she looked on, she suddenly felt something break inside of her, and she threw herself at him, burying her face in his chest. She let her warm tears flow down as she hugged him tightly, and felt him hugging her tightly in return. She didn't want to let go of him….she had so much wanted for this day to come…..and now…..she couldn't believe it was here. She just let herself go. This day was perfect….she had a family, a place she loved…..and friends…..and her life was only just beginning…


	3. Chapter 3

**_Aniki_  
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By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Tasuki's foul mouth  
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_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
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_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

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><p><em><strong>Standard disclaimer:<strong>_ These characters aren't mine they're created by the wonderful Watase Yuu, although I wish they were, Houjun-chan is such a hottie! So don't sue me, I need o-ka-ne right now...__

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><p><em><em>She sat up abruptly in bed as thunder crackled through the night air shaking her room with its' reverberating cry. She clutched the blankets tightly around her, shivering violently. Storms had always frightened her badly. Usually at home when a storm had come up, she had Stormy to hug, and she would curl up in her bed and shove her earphones on with her music playing loudly to drown it out. But here, well she couldn't do that. She clutched Stormy to her tightly, not able to shake the fear from her. She tried to force it out of her mind by thinking back on the previous events.

Yesterday had been a handful for her. After finding out the astonishing secret of her pendant, Taiitsukun had shooed her away again, forcing Chichiri to go back to his training, despite the monk's protests. So dutifully, she'd left the two to work, her mind having been in turmoil.

She had been walking slowly back to the palace, taking each step and feeling as is she was walking on a light cloud. She felt so…welcome, so close, so happy. A warm feeling wrapped her heart up. Every time she thought of Chichiri, a broad smile pasted her face.

Her Aniki….he was her Aniki!

She couldn't stop smiling. She felt as if she was about to burst from all the pent up joy that was filling her soul like an expanding balloon.

She stopped suddenly, and started laughing. A light bubbling laugh that burst out of her and rang through the courtyard in reverberating echoes. Birds stopped their chattering to glance curiously at the strange human standing still in the garden, laughing. They shook their heads as they flew off, wondering if Sunakake Baba had totally flipped and started recruiting madmen.

When she had finally stopped, she opened her eyes to see half a dozen Nyan Nyans gathered around her. She threw them a smile as they stared up at her confused. "Why you laughing Ame-sama?"

She knelt down to their level and grinned. "Because I'm really really happy. Don't you laugh when you're happy?"

The Nyan Nyan's just ended up looking at each other confused. She shook her head in amusement, then stood up. "Is Tasuki awake?"

The Nyan Nyans had replied that he wasn't awake, and that he had gone back to sleep to finish healing, and probably wouldn't be awake again that day.

She sighed heavily and thanked them, then wandered off to some quiet corner of the gardens and stared absently off, thinking to herself. She had eventually fallen asleep under the tree, and had woken up as the sun was going down on the horizon. She had gone back in, found that Chichiri had retired to bed since he was drained, and she had eaten her dinner, then retired herself, taking some time to snatch some paper and ink from Taiitsukun to make her usual journal entry. She had always done this, it was her way of relieving stress and her pent up feelings.

And now….she had realized as she sat there with the blank paper before her, that she had nothing BAD to write about. She had instead started to write down everything good, and surprisingly it made her feel just as good.

Now, as she sat hugging her pup to her chest, she realized she was terrified as well. This was a new place, and despite the fact that she was happier here, it was new and strange, and she had no one to depend on….

Sliding out of the covers, she dropped Stormy down, who immediately hid under the bed, frightened himself. She slowly crept out her door, her heart beating wildly and fluttery. She stood uncertainly in the hall for a minute, then lightning flickered and lit up the entire night sky like it was day, causing her to squeak in terror and creep down the hall towards the other rooms. She slowly paused in front of Tasuki's and peeked in. He was laying sprawled on the bed with all the covers kicked off, snoring loudly. She hid a giggle, her terror momentarily forgotten as she watched him. She leaned her head against the doorframe momentarily, then smiled and sighed, closing the door to let him rest.

And then as the hall was lit up again, and her ears throbbed as the booming noise cracked through the night, she fled to the nearest room. She flung the door open, terror on her face, and stood there panting, her eyes darting back and forth wildly.

She saw the figure in the bed sit up looking dazed, and then she heard the soft voice of her Aniki speak to her. "Daijoubu? What's the matter?"

She stood there shivering uncomfortably. She was 17….she shouldn't be acting like a child anymore….she felt incredibly embarrassed. She looked down, shifting nervously on her feet, then flinching and looking wildly up as more lightning flickered through the room, lighting both their faces up in the interim. "I…" The thunder drowned out the rest of her words and she looked at him helplessly.

She couldn't see his face in the darkness, but she knew he had his mask off and had a feeling he was smiling at her. He slowly got out of bed and walked over to her, pulling her into a tight embrace and gently stroking her hair. "Shhh….wakatta no da….."

She buried her face in his chest, shivering as the thunder rolled through the atmosphere again, and she pulled closer to him. She squeezed her eyes shut and whimpered. "Make it stop Aniki…..make it stop…."

He just hugged her tighter and stood there rocking gently to and fro on his feet, and that motion soothed her. She had never had anyone human to depend on…well she did have him, but not in flesh. But now….she felt completely comfortable doing this, because it felt right. He had somehow always been with her, and now she could be with him. Family….it was important to her, especially now. She hadn't had anyone to depend on before, but him….always him…..

Another peal of thunder rumbled through the air, and she whimpered. He gently took her arm and led her to the bed, and sat her down on it, then crossed his legs and joined her handing her a blanket to wrap around as they just simply sat on the bed facing each other. He smiled at her through the darkness. "Do you remember….we used to do this long ago?" He had dropped his odd accent, and by now she had come to associate that with when he was being his Seishi self, or his more serious self.

She shook her head. "I don't remember anything…..I can feel somethings that are familiar….like you, Aniki." She met his smile warmly. It was true. She KNEW he was her Aniki, because she could feel it was right. But she didn't remember anything about her life with him and the people who must have been her true parents. Which made her sad. "Tell me about it? Onigai?"

He smiled and wrapped his arms around a pillow, looking thoughtful. "Well….it was on night like these that you would usually come rushing in, and jump on top of me usually waking me up." He laughed softly, and she joined him nervously, trying to drown out the thunder. "Michi, who shared a bed with me, of course would never wake up, he slept like a log….." He laughed softly, shaking his head. "We used to tickle him with feathers, and he would sneeze…..but he'd never wake up…..and then he was usually tossing and turning on me, and I'd wake up and be buried under his arm or something…."

They both laughed. "So…" she said, "He was older, or younger?"

"Older. He was four years older than me."

She nodded, then came to a realization she didn't know how old he was. "Ne…..how old are you, aniki?"

He looked slightly surprised, but shrugged. "27 no da."

She nodded, and gestured for him to continue. "Well…..so you would come in during nights like these, and you'd sleep in our bed and we'd talk a bit, play games, tell stories…..that sort of thing…." His voice drifted off a bit, and she could tell he was reminiscing on the past.

She wrapped her arms around her pillow and leaned her head on it, watching him. "What were our parents like?"

His eye turned and fell on her, and she could feel the sadness inside of herself well up. She'd never felt attached to her parents, though she cared for her mother since her father abused her so badly. But she wanted to know….what her real life was like…

He spoke softly. "Mother was…..well she looked a lot like you do now." He smiled warmly down at her, a fond look in his gaze. "You look very much like her…..it's rather astonishing. She was very kind…and she used to sing to us….I don't suppose you'd remember the songs she would sing….."

She shook her head sadly. "I want to remember….I really do…"

He put a warm hand on her shoulder and tugged playfully at her hair with a smile. "Maybe Taiitsukun can do something about that in the morning no da."

She looked up hopefully. "You think so? She might be able to make me remember?"

He nodded slightly. "No harm in asking at least no da. She would refuse to help someone forget things, but remembering is different no da."

Ame felt her heart flutter excitedly. "I hope so…." She looked up at him, hope shining in her eyes in the dim light. "I want to remember….I really do….."

He laughed softly as another loud peal of thunder rumbled through the palace, and she flinched and hugged her pillow tighter to herself. "K…Kowai…." Suddenly, a thought hit her. "Oi….Aniki, have you been keeping that language spell up the whole time? You're not wearing that necklace of yours…."

He shook his head. "Iie no da. Once we got here, Taiitsukun gave you the ability to understand and speak our language no da."

She looked surprised, when she realized it was true. She had been speaking their language rather than her own…of course, she realized with a smile, it really was her true language after all, since she had grown up learning this one, so maybe that's why she hadn't realized anything. "Sokka….that makes sense."

He smiled at her, and she felt that warmth when she caught his smile, that warmth that always made her tingle inside. He was her family…..her real family…..She moved over on the bed until she was leaning against him, and hugged him, closing her eyes peacefully. "I'm so happy Aniki…..You don't know how happy I am…"

She felt a hand rest on her back, and smiled more. "Iie…I know exactly how happy you are no da. Do you know how much I've longed to do just this? I've dreamed of being able to hug you again…wishing that you hadn't died….and now…..I can hardly dare to believe it."

She smiled sleepily. The storm was still going full blast, but somehow she wasn't as worried about it with him around. She felt safe. She began to drift off to sleep, breathing slowly and deeply, her face a perfect semblance of peace.

Chichiri smiled and looked out the window at the falling rain, feeling her warmth and attachment to him. He had waited so long…..but something was bothering him about this whole thing…..He quickly shook his head and gently stroked her hair as she lay in his lap, having fallen asleep. His imouto…

He gently shifted her off of his lap, and then pulled some blankets over her sleeping form, and propped a pillow under her head with a tender smile, then stood watching her for several minutes. It was almost too good to be true.

He slowly walked to the side door, and stepped out into the warm night air. The storm was ferocious, lightning flying rampant across the night sky. Thunder rolled loudly, and echoed through the mountains like tympani drums. He casually leaned against the wall, watching the rain pour down methodically on the ground. He couldn't keep a small smile from lighting his lips, though he still felt uneasy and unsure. There was something that wasn't right, and he would have to make a point to go and ask Taiitsukun about it in the morning.

Closing his eye and leaning his head back, he whispered in a soft voice. "Thank you Suzaku….thank you for this precious gift." 

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><p>Ame slowly opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was the carved ceiling that resembled small lotus blossoms in the dim early morning light. She could still hear the rumble of thunder, and her thoughts suddenly snapped back to the night's escapade. Abruptly, she sat up in bed, and looked wildly around her. Chichiri was no where to be found, and she saw that she had been tucked inside the covers, and as she slowly got out of bed, she saw a blanket and pillow laying rumpled on the floor. A pang went through her heart. He had slept on the floor and let her use his bed…..She bit her lip. Now she felt bad about it, she had no business taking his bed like that….<p>

She got out of the bed, and glanced around. His ordinary clothes were still laying on the chair where he had left them, and she wondered where he might be. Slowly opening the door, she poked her head out into the hall, glancing in either direction. When she saw that there was no one there, she slowly walked down the hall, completely lost. She had been too scared the night before to realize where she had been going, and while she was certain that her bedroom had to be around here someplace, she couldn't seem to find it….

Eventually, she came upon a small room, with mirrors from wall to wall. Floating mirrors, mirrors on the ceiling, floor, walls, everywhere. There was a small raised dais with many cushions on it as well, and as she craned her neck to see in, she could see that many of the mirrors reflected places other than the mountain.

"Good morning."

She shrieked, whirling around in fright as the gravely voice spoke up from behind her. The Creator floated there, looking unemotional as ever, several Nyan Nyans around her. She lay twitching on the floor slightly, staring up still stunned. "Er…..hi."

Taiitsukun shook her head and floated right over her, and seated herself on the dais with the cushions. "What is it with people being so skittish in the mornings."

Ame slowly stood, brushing herself off, aware much to her embarrassment that she was still in her nightclothes. "Gomen nasai. I just didn't realize you were there."

The Creator snorted. "Seems to be the common response." She eyed the girl calmly. "So. What may I do for you this morning?"

She fidgeted nervously. She hadn't planned on seeing the creator, but now that she was here…"Ano….I don't suppose…..well, Chichiri said that you might be able to help me remember my past…."

The creator examined her carefully in complete silence for some time before finally speaking. "Are you sure that you want to remember it? I warn you, if I do reveal it to you, there will be a severe cost to you."

"Cost?" She bit her lip. "What do you mean?"

Taiitsukun just shrugged. "That I cannot reveal to you. You will find out when the time is right, but I warn you of it now ahead of time."

A cost…..what kind of a cost would it be? Ame frowned to herself wondering if it were worth the risk. But then, if she never took it, she would never know. "I'd like to know please."

The Creator nodded. "I had a feeling that would be the case. Very well then." She raised a wrinkled hand, and suddenly a strange bubble was surrounding Ame.

Ame looked around startled, then forced herself to relax. She heard a movement, and saw Chichiri enter from the side and stand in the doorway watching calmly. She smiled over at him briefly, then her attention was drawn away to Taiitsukun. The Creator was glowing slightly, her eyes closed in concentration, and her hands in a strange position.

Then….it happened.

She felt it softly at first. It was a gentle flow of something, tickling her mind. Like a soft current of water trickling down her back. Pleasant, but annoying. Images of people, she saw her aniki…images of him holding her up to the sky, images of them rolling down grassy hills, of picking flowers, of fishing, of making daisy chains…..then new faces sprung to her mind. A woman, gentle and kind looking. A man, weatherworn, but bearing a sunny friendly smile. A young man who resembled Chichiri a bit, but had darker hair and a wider face. He was handing her a flower….

Then suddenly, it was as if a damn burst in her mind. Images came rushing furiously, rampantly, and with full force. Fast, furious, and brilliant, she saw everything. Everything that her young mind had experienced. From start to finish. It was overwhelming, and almost too much for her to handle. It was like being hit by a flood, and trying to breathe. She couldn't grasp onto a hold without being dragged under. She panicked, gasping for a grip in the tumult of images. Her heart flickered rapidly, and she felt a blackness form around her vision.

Then she felt the stability. Someone was holding her tightly, and she could hear him whispering her name. She reached out with her mind, trying to steady the waves that kept pounding into her. She clutched him tightly, as the fierce rush calmed eventually, and she could finally think clearly, though the experience of having to catch up with 7 whole years of lost memories was a harsh one.

She managed to open her eyes finally, having squelched them closed during the onslaught. She glanced up and saw his deep mahogany eye gazing down at her, and she smiled up at him. "She was beautiful….just like you said aniki."

A smile spread across his face, and she hugged him tightly to her as the memories died down. But this time, they stayed at the back of her mind. She could still sense their presence, she knew they were there.

"Are you satisfied?" Came the gravely question from the Creator. Though her voice seemed harsh, there was a small trace of a twinkle in her eyes.

Ame nodded, turning her head towards her with a tear sparkling at the edge of her eyes. "Hai! Thank you so much! Thank you!"

Taiitsukun nodded briefly. "You deserve it. However, there is that price that I mentioned before for you two to still worry about."

She slowly released her grip around his waist and turned to stare at Taiitsukun. She had assumed the Creator had meant the onslaught ferocity when she had mentioned the price….but apparently that had not been the case. "What is it…"

The Creator frowned slightly, and crossed her arms as Tasuki entered from the doorway looking curious. "You have not asked the main question yet of how it's possible for you have to gone into the other world, then returned back here."

She glanced over at Chichiri, who simply returned her blank stare, and then she smiled briefly at Tasuki as he moved to sit next to them, then turned back to Taiitsukun. "I didn't think about that…"

"I did no da." Chichiri said softly. "It was bothering me last night….Do you know the reason Taiitsukun no da?"

Tasuki scratched his head and listened blankly, not understanding fully what was going on.

"Yes. I do know." She sighed heavily and crossed her arms. "There exists a balance between the two worlds. It must be fairly well balanced out or there will be a tip in a negative direction. Several years back, there was a tip in this world's direction. Someone from the other world came into this one and remained here. The order went unnoticed for some time, until Tenkou began to gather some of his power."

Chichiri was nodding in understanding, and Tasuki continued to look blank. She remembered vaguely some of the things that Chichiri had told her before. Tenkou was the one who had caused most of the trouble, she recalled.

She continued. "The worlds sensed this, and to balance it out, someone from this world was sent over. Things like that happen occasionally from time to time….you just happened to be the unfortunately individual who got caught in it."

She blinked, then nodded. "But…." She glanced at Chichiri. "You thought I died in that flood…."

"You must have vanished while I was…." He hesitated. "…busy elsewhere no da. I returned to the village, and found it completely gone…..you may have gone over during that time…"

She nodded slowly. "Yeah…that's possible."

"But," Tasuki suddenly spoke up. "But, if that's the case, then the balance should be upset again, shouldn't it since she's back here?"

Taiitsukun seemed certainly impressed by Tasuki's sudden words. "Very good Tasuki. You're completely correct." She gestured outside. "It begins again. What do you think the flood was a result of?"

Chichiri seemed to suddenly flinch sharply at that. "Tenkou created the floods?"

Taiitsukun shook her head. "No, he himself did not create the floods. It was the imbalance of power and his gaining strength that made the floods happen."

Chichiri looked sullen at that.

"So," Ame whispered softly, "That means that the world's out of balance again…someone from here has to return?"

Taiitsukun nodded. "Preferably the person who was pulled in here in the first place…..however that may be a difficult task."

Tasuki scowled. "Shit. Ya mean we gotta find this person? How the hell are we supposed to know who it is?"

Chichiri spoke up quickly before Taiitsukun could move towards the bandit, her intentions obvious. "Ano, I'm sure you must know who it is Taiitsukun no da?"

Tasuki lucked out, because the Creator paused in her actions to glance back at them, allowing Tasuki to creep out of her way. "Yes. I do. However, it is not in my best interests to reveal who that individual is to you just yet."

Ame sighed quietly, and heard Chichiri and Tasuki both match her sigh. She had to smile slightly at that, and then she threw a bright smile at them both. "Well then! We'll just have to do some research and go looking for this person, now won't we?"

They both stared at her for a minute, unsure about her optimism. Finally Tasuki spoke. "It's gonna be like a fucking needle in a haystack though!"

She stood up, grinning. "Oi, it'll be a challenge! We do research and pass some time trying to find out who it is! Another adventure for you Tasuki."

He looked doubtful. "I don't need no fucking adventure! This has been more than enough thank you very much!" He glared at no one specific. "Thought it'd be simpler now that all that Seishi crap is over with."

Chichiri hid a smile with his hand trying to appear like he was brushing his hair out of his face. "Anyway, Ame's right. We need to find this individual no da."

Tasuki looked cross, but didn't say anything. Taiitsukun nodded slightly. "Very well. I can give you a single clue. And that is this…" She reached into her robes and pulled out an object.

They peered at it incomprehensibly, until Ame reached forward and took it from Taiitsukun and stared at it blankly. "What the….." She looked up bewildered. "What good would this do here?"

Tasuki plucked it from her and turned it over then scowled. "What is it?"

Taiitsukun shrugged. "Ask Ame that. It's from the other world, even I have no idea what it is."

Chichiri raised an eyebrow at Ame, and she shrugged. "It's a computer disk. You stick it in a computer and it reads stuff off of it."

Tasuki looked like he was stressing his brains to think. "What? The computer thing eats it?"

"Well, sort of."

Chichiri sighed. "Let me guess then….this requires us to pay Miaka's world a visit no da?"

Taiitsukun nodded with an amused smile. "Give her my regards while you're there."

Tasuki and Chichiri exchanged glances uncertainly. Then the bandit spoke up. "But…how the hell are we supposed to get there?"

Taiituskun snorted. "Try to think with what little brains you have Tasuki. Would I not give you information without a way to make use of it?" She closed her eyes and drew her hands together, focusing chi and a spot began to glow before them. It brightened and then focused into a form of a human.

A Nyan Nyan.

They all facefaulted.

Tasuki was the first one up sputtering, his fangs barred. "What the hell? We're supposed to take one of those things with us?"

Taiitsukun's glare was enough to turn him to stone. "Do you have a problem with that Tasuki?"

He flinched, and quickly sat back down, but was silently fuming. Chichiri glanced up at Taiitsukun. "But, won't the balance be upset even more by us going no da?"

Taiitsukun shrugged. "Small amounts of time are not a big deal. If you were to stay any longer than a month per say, things would go badly. If one from Miaka's world were to stay here longer than a year, the same would be in effect due to the time differences."

Chichiri nodded in understanding. "So that's why when Miaka and Yui were here they were able to stay for great lengths of time no da."

"Well, if it had just been Miaka, then things would have gone smoother."

"I see….that's why Tenkou grew power…..two Mikos were here….."

"Correct."

Ame had fallen silent through most of the discussion. Part of it was the fact that she knew so little about what had happened here, despite the brief explanation Chichiri had given her before. The other part, was the fact that she was reluctant to return to the other world….it brought up too many painful memories.

"Ame? OI!" Tasuki was waving a hand in front of her face. "Hello? Anyone home?"

She snapped back to reality. "I'm sorry….kinda spaced out there for a sec. I'm ok."

Tasuki scowled. "As I said…How long's this gonna take?"

She shrugged. "Shouldn't take long if the information is all on this disk. All we need it s a computer."

Taiitsukun clapped her hands together. "Good. Make plans and leave as soon as you can. If you require any items, just ask the Nyan Nyans." And with that the Creator dismissed them curtly.

They exited and stood out in the hall for several minutes. Finally, Ame grinned. "Yosha!" Tasuki glared at her at that. "Well, we'd better start getting things together to take. You said this Miaka lived there right?" They both nodded. "Well, could we stay with her while we're there?"

Both Seishi looked at each other, smiles on their faces at the idea of seeing their old friends again. "Hai. I'm sure Miaka wouldn't mind no da."

"Sure as hell would be good to beat the crap outta Tama again!"

"Good. Maybe we can get the Nyan Nyan to send us to Japan then." She glanced at the both of them. "We'll need to get you some clothes so you'll blend in better.

Tasuki scowled. "What the hell's wrong with what we've got?"

She snorted. "Just trust me. You don't wanna be walking around downtown Tokyo with a metal fan strapped to your back."

Tasuki looked upset at that, but said nothing. So saying, Ame turned to the Nyan Nyan who was tagging along with them. "Could you get them some suitable clothes to wear in my world?"

"Haaaaaaiiiiiii!"

Ame grinned. "Great. You two have fun then." And with that, the Nyan Nyan lead them off to their separate rooms while Ame headed to her own. Once she reached it, she sat down on the bed and stared at the disk in her hands for some time. She wondered what it would take to find the information…..

Standing up, she gathered what small things she had with her, and put it into a small bag that she'd been given, including the disk. Shouldering it, she walked out into the receiving room and sat on a cushion and waited for the guys to come out. She waited some minutes before she heard footsteps and voices, one being Tasuki complaining loudly. She hid a smile as Chichiri walked into the room. Her smile widened further as she saw how nice he looked. He was wearing all black, long pants, a long sleeved black shirt that buttoned up the front, and a light tan overcoat and black boots. His stand up bangs had been calmed a bit, and were hanging loosely over his face seeming more normal now. He had a pair of sunglasses in his hands and seemed unsure of what to do with them. She grinned. "You look good Aniki!"

He smiled, and then slipped the sunglasses onto his face. "This is a very odd outfit I must admit no da."

She laughed. "You look good."

Then she heard cursing and her eyes turned towards the hall where Tasuki was walking trying to figure out how to get his arms into the tight leather jacket. Her eyes widened in amazement, and she felt her face color as her heart quickened. He was….stunning. That could be the only word for it…..

He wore a white tank top, allowing for his tight muscles to show. Simple blue jeans that were held up by a western style belt, and some sports shoes. It was a plain normal outfit….however she couldn't stop staring.

She felt a weight on her shoulder, and heard a soft voice whisper in her ear, "You might want to compose yourself a bit no da." Her cheeks colored more as she tore her eyes away, ashamed that she'd been gaping at him.

Finally getting the jacket on with a final curse, Tasuki glanced at her. "You people wear strange stuff.

She smiled, then stood up as the Nyan Nyan floated in. "Well…nothing keeping us I suppose….should we go?"

The guys nodded, and the Nyan Nyan stepped forward. Taiitsukun appeared in the background, floating impassively. "Remember," she said, "You don't have all the time in the world. It may take longer than you suppose, so don't waste time with frivolous things." They nodded and the Nyan Nyan began a soft chanting, and the area surrounding them began to glow, and then the world faded in a shimmering light. 


	4. Chapter 4

**_Aniki_  
><strong>

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Tasuki's foul mouth  
><em>

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

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><p><strong>Standard disclaimer:<strong>_ These characters aren't mine they're created by the wonderful Watase Yuu, although I wish they were, Houjun-chan is such a hottie! So don't sue me, I need o-ka-ne right now..._

**_Note:_**_ In this part I refer to Tamahome as Tamahome rather than Taka, just because it's how the seishi know him as, and since the OVA's, he's still the same person as Tamahome anyway. Just a point to clear things up ^.^_

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><p>Keisuke sighed. It had been a very long day. First, the incident with the stolen books…at least they'd discovered who had taken them, now all they needed to do was get them back from the janitor who'd apparently taken them to the trash thinking they were yard sale items…He buried his face in his hands helplessly. Then….the mistranslation of the first volume of the Min Emperors' journals…he'd been tired…..He sighed heavily, groaning out loud.<p>

"Oi…..look on the bright side of things will you?" Tetsuya took a swig of beer and sighed at Keisuke. "You're too serious on the matter."

Keisuke didn't look up. "If you had spent an entire month translating the damn book, then found out it was in a more ancient dialect than you thought, you wouldn't be too happy either."

Tetsuya shrugged. "I did tell you to double check the dates."

Keisuke sweatdropped. "Thanks."

Tetsuya leaned back. "So…any luck yet?"

Keisuke sighed and sat up, staring absently out the window at the busy street. "If you were a girl, would you like a guy like me?"

"You're too negative."

"Speak for yourself. You have a girl."

"Maybe you should try boys then."

Keisuke had been sipping a drink, and promptly was spewing it all over Tetsuya's face. "ARE YOU NUTS?"

Tetsuya took off his sunglasses and grabbed a napkin wiping his face off, then calmly began polishing his sunglasses. "Lighten up will you?"

Keisuke just sighed and moodily propped his chin on his hand and stared out the window unhappily. "That wasn't funny."

"Mou….it's no wonder you can't find someone Keisuke. You take things way too seriously lately." Tetsuya was polishing his glasses and wasn't paying attention to Keisuke, who had suddenly sat straight up and was staring intently out the window. "Mou….if you're ever going to find someone, you need to keep an optimistic attitude." He glanced up only to find Keisuke gone. "Ara?" He jumped to his feet in surprise. "Oi!" He glanced out the window, and saw Keisuke run by it. "OI!"

Keisuke dashed through the crowds, elbowing his way, mumbling apologies as he bumped into pedestrians. His attention was completely focused on someone far ahead of him. He neared a corner and looked around desperately, having lost sight of who he was looking for. Tetsuya ran up slightly out of breath. "Look, I'm sorry…"

"No! I thought I saw someone."

Tetsuya looked around confused. "What? Who did you see?"

Keisuke sighed, and leaned back against a building wall in defeat. "I lost them….ah well, forget it….must have been my imagination."

Tetsuya gave his friend an odd look. "I think you need to rest some pal. You've been working too hard lately."

"Yeah, maybe that's it. Let's go." With that the two headed back to Tetsuya's car and headed back in the direction of the house. They rode in silence for some time, before Keisuke spoke. "So how are things between you two?"

Tetsuya grinned. "Couldn't be better. In fact…" He glanced over. "I want to ask your opinion on something."

Keisuke looked surprised. "MY opinion?" Tetsuya nodded. "Well shoot."

"Should I ask Yui to marry me?"

Keisuke blinked in surprise, then stared at his friend. He was returning his gaze evenly as they waited at a light. "M-marry you? Are you serious?"

"Would I be asking you if I wasn't?"

"Yes."

"Che…..I'm being serious here."

Keisuke blinked, then stared absently out of the car window. "Well….it's up to you I guess…..if you love her that much, then I'd say yes."

Tetsuya nodded. "I want to…but I'm not sure what she'd say….."

Keisuke shrugged. "No harm in trying." The pulled up at the Yuuki residence, and exited the car. As Keisuke was shutting the door, he paused. There were three people at the doorstep…..His eyes widened in surprise and he started towards them slowly, forgetting about the car door.

"OI!" Tetsuya shouted, as he slammed Keisuke's door for himself. Then his gaze fell on the people who had turned around to watch them.

Keisuke approached them and paused hesitantly. Until the one with blue hair stepped forward and spoke warmly to him. "You're Miaka's brother, ne no da?"

His lips parted in a wide smile as he recognized the familiar speech pattern. "Chichiri?" He grinned at his red-haired companion. "Tasuki!" The bandit grinned at him lopsidedly. "What….what are you two doing here?"

"Well, we thought we'd stop by and say hi to Obake-chan." Tasuki grinned, showing his fangs.

Keisuke was at a loss for words as Tetsuya approached behind them. "Hm…." He said staring at Tasuki. "You look familiar…..have we met?"

Keisuke elbowed his friend. "Aho!" With a wide grin, he gestured them inside. "Come on in! Miaka and Tamahome don't live here anymore, but I can give them a call and I'm sure Tetsuya wouldn't mind driving you to their house."

The three followed him up the stairs, followed by Tetsuya who was grumbling about something to the effect that he was being used as a transport device.

"We'd be very grateful no da…" Chichiri was saying as they entered the house.

Keisuke threw the keys down on the couch and grinned. "No problem. It's good to see you two! How are things going?"

Tasuki snorted. "Feh…."

Chichiri smiled. "Very well actually. Some minor things, which is why we're here actually no da." He glanced at the girl with them. She seemed shy and was hanging close to Chichiri and Tasuki.

Keisuke grabbed the phone and dialed a number. "Minor things? Nothing serious I hope."

"No, of course not."

He nodded as he heard someone pick up the phone. "Hi sis….ne, are you and Tama busy now?…..no?….how about coming over here for a bit…..well, there's some guests here who'd like to see you two….Tetsuya can pick you up…..right….kay, I'll send him now." Keisuke hung up. "Kay, go pick them up Tetsuya." Tetsuya sighed, but turned and headed out the door, soon vanishing and his car driving off. Keisuke offered them to sit down, then brought out some beers and offered them. Chichiri and Ame refused but accepted a soda, Tasuki took one and stared at the cold can in his hands baffled.

"What the hell is it?"

Keisuke laughed and proceeded to show the trio how to open a can. Chichiri and Tasuki were amazed by this feat, while Ame calmly drank her soda watching in amusement. At the first sip of his soda, Chichiri nearly spit it out, his sunglasses sliding off his nose into his lap as he coughed and sputtered. "D….daaaa."

Keisuke and Ame dissolved into fits of laughter while Tasuki was grinning ear to ear. After the first few incidents of taste testing, they settled into friendly chit chat about life in Konan, and Japan. About a half hour had passed before they heard Tetsuya's car pull up, and the door slam shut. They all waited seated calmly as they heard the voices of Miaka, Tamahome, Tetsuya, and Yui who had climbed in for the ride, clamber up the stairs.

"Ok, Tetsuya, what the hell's going on?"

"Yeah, what's so important that you couldn't tell us what's going on?"

They stepped into the living room, and casually glanced over, only to see Tasuki sprawled cross-legged on the floor grinning up at them, and Chichiri leaning casually back on the couch with a smile on his face.

Miaka's eyes lit up immediately and she gasped in happiness. "Minna!" She threw herself at Chichiri since he was closest, and the monk stifled a small grunt as her arms latched tightly onto him. He hugged her back in return as her eyes shone. "What are you doing here?"

"We thought we'd stop by and say hi since we were in the neighborhood no da." Chichiri smiled warmly at her, and thus merited another large bear hug from Miaka.

Tamahome was slapping Tasuki heartily on the back, and getting thwacked on the head in return. "Obake-chan!"

"Fang-kun!" They then tackled each other, and proceeded to roll around on the floor tussling around.

Miaka smiled warmly at their antics, laughing with Chichiri and Keisuke. She glanced over then to Ame who was watching with a small smile. "Ne, I don't think we've met."

Ame smiled and offered a hand. "Ameshi Ri."

Miaka shook her hands as Chichiri explained a bit further. "Ame is my imouto, Miaka-chan."

Her eyes widened. "Honto ni?" She grinned. "That's great!" She glanced over at Tama and Tasuki who were still beating up on each other. "But, I thought that your family died a while ago….."

The siblings smiled at each other, then Chichiri told her what had happened. After he'd finished, by this time Tama and Tasuki were both laying passed out breathless from their bout, she smiled and embraced Ame. "I'm so happy for you both! Demo…" She frowned. "How are you going to find this person who's unbalancing things?"

Ame rummaged through her sack and pulled out the disk. "Taiitsukun gave us this."

Tamahome frowned and wandered over and picked up the disk. "How'd she get her hands on this?"

Chichiri shrugged. "It must have belonged to whoever we're looking for."

Keisuke frowned, and took the disk. "It's really old….it's one of the large floppy disks….only the old stone aged ones use these….they went out of demand years ago." He walked over to the system computer, and plopped down in front of it, turning it on. The others got up and gathered around him. Once it had warmed up, he popped the disk into the floppy drive, and clicked it shut, then opened the drive. "This should do it…"

They all watched the screen as bits of old data flashed across it. Tasuki and Chichiri stared incomprehensibly, with Tamahome, Miaka and Ame joining them. Keisuke, Yui, and Tetsuya all read it. Finally, Tetsuya whistled, and the others glanced at him. "So…what does it say?" Tama asked.

Keisuke leaned back frowning. "Well….it's hard to tell really. It's bits and pieces of a story from what I can tell…..some of it's been eaten away by age."

Tasuki peered at the screen. "So….what does that mean?"

Keisuke glanced up at him, then began scanning the story. "It's a fictional thing…..seems whoever was writing this was an author….it's a story…..something about a missing idol…..looks like a mystery or drama or something."

Chichiri scratched his head. "So….we're dealing with a puzzle here…..what we need to know most likely isn't in the story, is that right no da?"

Tetsuya nodded. "Seems that way."

Yui crossed her arms in thought. "So, we should find out who the author is, and maybe we can get a lead on that…..does the story have a title?"

Keisuke scanned back to the top. "Doesn't appear to."

"So we're going out in the dark here….."

Chichiri leaned back and sighed. "Somehow I knew it wouldn't be as easy as it seemed no da."

Tasuki scowled. "So now what?"

Yui shrugged. "Check the library for a book that's like this."

Miaka frowned. "But what if it was never published?"

They all fell silent at this. It was a possibility….. "Let's try to look on the bright side of things here. It's possible that it was published. We'll start there, and if we hit a dead end, we'll start someplace else." Tetsuya nodded to the others.

They nodded in agreement. "Maybe someone should check the periodicals for information…..maybe an ad for the book or something while the rest of us look in the library." Yui suggested.

"Sounds like a plan." Miaka chirped happily. "I'm sure we'll find it!" She hugged Tasuki, since she hadn't done so before. "In the meanwhile, it's so good to see you both again!" 

* * *

><p>Tasuki scowled. All these damn %*#&amp;ing books. He crossed his arms and walked over to Keisuke who was reading through some of the books. "Any luck?"<p>

Keisuke sighed and shelved the book. "Nope…if only we knew more specifically what we're looking for…..but this mystery story thing…it could be any third rate book for all we know."

Tasuki sighed. "Damn it…all this *#$*ing nonsense…."

Keisuke shrugged. "We'll find it. Just takes some time."

Tasuki just scowled more. "I'm gonna go over and see how the others are doing." Keisuke nodded absently while skimming through another book. Tasuki wandered over to the drink machine, and fished out some coins Keisuke had given him in case he got thirsty. He stared at them, forgetting which was which, and just shoved them all into the machine and hit a button, which got him some soda at least. Drinking it, he headed over to the periodical tables where Chichiri and Miaka were sitting going through articles. He plopped down beside them. "Any luck?"

Chichiri sighed, and slid off the sunglasses to rub his eye. "Nope. Nothing so far no da."

Miaka shook her head and leaned back in the chair. "There's not many book reports anywhere…..nothing on authors either….."

Tasuki scowled. "We gotta be able to find something…I mean, we're never gonna find this missing person this way."

"I know….but it's slow work Tasuki." Miaka said tiredly. "Yui and Tetsuya did lots of research on the Shijin Tenchi Sho while I was in it with you guys during the battle with Tenkou….it took them days to come up with any information."

Chichiri suddenly slammed his fist down on the table, startling them and readers around them. "That's it no da!"

The two stared at him. "What's it?" Miaka asked.

"We've been looking in the wrong places no da!" He leaned forward and lowered his voice. "What if we looked at the missing person's ads? Find out if any who were missing had an author for a parent or something no da?"

Miaka's eyes widened, and Tasuki grinned. "Now yer talking! I never thought of that."

Miaka nodded. "That's a great idea….we might get faster progress that way." She ran back over to the periodicals desk and spoke with the clerk for a while, then came back with reels of tape. Chichiri, who had quickly gotten a hang of the modern devices, took a few and slid into the seat and began to scan through with Miaka translating. Tasuki finished off his drink, then sighed and leaned back in the chair. "Che….what the hell can I do?"

Chichiri glanced back over at him as Miaka advanced the film more. "Why don't you go and hang out with Ame no da."

Tasuki looked startled, then his cheeks turned a shade of pink. "Just what the HELL did you mean by that?"

Miaka glanced over worriedly. "Shhh, be quite Tasuki….it's a library, if you're too loud they throw us out!"

He scowled, but Chichiri got up and sat down next to him in a neighboring chair. "Listen no da….I know, and you both know what you're doing right now no da."

Tasuki just glowered at him. "What the hell do you care….."

Chichiri just looked amused. "Tasuki…we've known each other for some time now…..why do you think I care no da?"

Tasuki looked down ashamed.

"Talk to her no da. Tell her how you feel."

At that he stood up abruptly. "What the fuck are you saying. I hate women." And with that he stalked off. Chichiri and Miaka both watched him go, then Chichiri shook his head. "One day….he'll realize it one day. That day however," he said rejoining Miaka, "…will obviously not be today no da."

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><p>Tasuki was stalking through the library halls, heading back to the reference rooms where Keisuke, Tetsuya, Ame, and the others were. He felt Chichiri's words still echoing around in his mind. ~Tell her how you feel~ He scowled. What the hell did the monk know anyway… 'A lot you aho….he's her brother after all….' He stopped and threw a fist into the brick wall nearby, only resulting in keeping a cry of pain back. He sucked on his fist for a while, actually doing some thinking for once.<p>

"Shit."

It was all so confusing to him. When he'd met her, he'd been intrigued because she was strange, and couldn't speak their language where most who were from another world seemed to be able to….at least those whom he'd met….well, ok, so it was only Miaka. But then later…when he'd woken up and she'd played being unable to understand him when she could….and then…..the kiss.

He reached a hand up to his lips. It had been the same when he'd kissed Miaka that one time when he was trying to get her to breathe…..it tingled. Even though he'd been to shocked and stunned at the time to do anything, every time he thought back on it, goosebumps would raise on the back of his neck. Why was he reacting this way?

He sighed and leaned against the wall. Well, Chichiri thought he knew why at least…..and he guessed from the way Miaka had looked at him, she suspected something similar. Well…..he smirked slightly to himself. He guessed they were right. She instilled something inside of him….something that made him want to be around her more and more. He wasn't the type to admit to it, but when he was alone….he had to admit it to himself. The impossible was finally happening. At the age of 20, Tasuki was finally falling in love.

The stillness of the library was broken by a sudden yelp, and then the thundering of feet as Keisuke barreled around the corner right into Tasuki, who was quick enough to roll to the side to avoid hitting his head on the wall. "Aho!"

Keisuke picked himself up quickly. "Gomen! I found the book!" he held it triumphantly up. "Finally! Took us a while, ne?" Keisuke grinned.

Tasuki snatched it from him. "How the hell did you find it?"

"It was actually an accident! I was getting fed up. I'd asked the librarian if she knew anything, and some guy over heard me after she turned me away. He asked more specifics, then took me and found this book, and then gave me this long talk on how un-extrodinary it was…..che I thought he'd never shut up, but then I looked at the book and found it was the right one!"

Tasuki grinned. "Bout damn time. So who's the author?"

Keisuke peered at it. "Um….some name I don't recognize…..Tobashika." He shrugged. I dunno….but at least we found it."

They all headed towards the periodicals, and found Chichiri and Miaka excitedly writing something down. "Ne, we found it guys!"

Miaka looked up happily. "You did? Wai! We found something too." She held up a paper she'd written stuff down on. "We found a missing person's ad where an author reported a missing son who disappeared in a red light!" She beamed.

They looked at each other. "Did they give a name?" Keisuke asked.

"Tobashika. Himari Tobashika was the name of the author."

They nodded. "Looks like we're on a roll here….did they give an address?"

Miaka shook her head. "Newspapers never do. But I'm sure we can look in the public records and all that."

"Lets hope so," Tasuki growled.

Tamahome lay back on the couch with a loud thump. "Well….that proved helpful."

They were seated around the Yuuki residence's living room relaxing for the evening, stretched out on the floor, the couches, and all finishing off some fast food. Miaka sighed and settled down in Tamahome's lap, her head resting on his chest comfortably. Chichiri was laying down, half asleep on the rug turned on his side with his eye closed. Tasuki sat sprawled against the wall, looking bored, Ame sat in one of the chairs by the window, Keisuke was poking around on the computer, and Yui was asleep in Tetsuya's lap.

Tasuki's eyes kept glancing over at Ame, his expression thoughtful. It was calm now…but Obake-chan was there, and that made him narrow his eyes. If he made a move now, he'd get teased for it later. He didn't want to risk that. He let out a small sigh, and then glanced in Ame's direction as she stood up and stepped out onto the balcony into the fresh night air. 'Perfect!' He thought. And it was then that he decided to make a move. He stood up, ignoring the look Tamahome gave him, and stepped out onto the balcony beside her, closing the sliding door. "Hi…" He said softly, leaning on the railing and looking out across the city. "Never saw so many fucking lights before in my life."

She laughed softly, her face smiling a lot like Chichiri's did. "Yeah…"

He snorted, then fell silent. There was an awkward silence in between them for the longest time, in which Tasuki found himself wishing he had experience with this sort of thing. Finally she spoke up, startling his attempts to voice his thoughts. "Ne, I wanted to apologize for what I did the other day."

He frowned. "Naya?"

She didn't look at him, but focused on her hands. "I overstepped by bounds. I shouldn't have done that, and I'm sorry."

He blinked in puzzlement. "What are you talking about?"

She looked up at him, and he saw tears twinkling in her eyes in the dim light. "I meant the time I….." she blushed. "…kissed you. I'm sorry, I didn't know you hated women."

He nearly fell off of the railing. 'Shit,' he thought, 'What a time for that to come up!' He cleared his throat, and tried to think of something inspirational to say, but seeing that he wasn't that kind of a person, needless to say nothing came to him. Finally, after some long silence, he just butted it right out. "Che, I'm the one who should be apologizing."

She looked over at him questioningly, a small tear running down her cheek.

He met her eyes. "I didn't tell you that I'd stop hating women a few years ago."

Her eyes widened slowly, revealing their crimson depths which were the same shade as her brothers. Tasuki could see her thinking quickly inside of her eyes. "You….you mean that…."

For an answer, Tasuki leaned forward and gently kissed her on the lips, tenderly, then pulled back solemnly, his amber eyes dancing.

She stood there breathless for several minutes, not sure what to say or do. She looked as if she wanted to say something, then drew back uncertain, then stumbled over her thoughts. He thought it was quite funny to watch, and he grinned showing his fangs. "Che. You just gonna stand there and look like a blushing rag doll?"

She looked up curiously at him. "You have a funny way with words."

He cringed internally, knowing his chance was being blown. 'Damn it,' he cursed himself. "I'm sorry….I…." He fumbled uncertainly, but she smiled and raised a hand to his cheek and leaned forward and cut his words off.

He was astonished at first, then he relaxed and kissed her back. They stood there for a long time, out in the cold air, but not noticing the chill in the least.

Tamahome wondered as he turned the lights to the house off when and if they would come in, but he smiled and drew the curtains a smirk on his face. "Well, it's about time." 

* * *

><p>Keisuke walked into the living room after his shower and surveyed the scene. Apparently, everyone had just slept where they were, Tamahome was laying on the couch with Miaka next to him, Tetsuya and Yui were curled up on the rug together, and Chichiri lay on the floor with his arm tucked under his head. He blinked. Two were missing… He looked around, then headed for the balcony, and discovered where the missing persons were. Tasuki was laying snoring quite loudly in a chair, with Ame's head in his lap. Her eyes were shut peacefully, and a tranquil smile alit her face. Keisuke grinned, and left the doors open, then went in and began to make something for breakfast for the group, before Miaka awoke and volunteered to make it herself.<p>

The smell of cooking food awakened most of the group. Miaka was up the minute he threw the fish on the griddle, and was by his side in a flash, her eyes shimmering hopefully. "No handouts." He said firmly, and she sighed then headed off to take a shower.

Tamahome was stretching on the couch, then he stood and walked over to Chichiri and nudged him with his foot. "Oi…wake up monk. Your sister slept with Fang-kun last night."

At the nudge, Chichiri rolled over and opened his eye sleepily. "Huh?" he managed in his high voice, still half asleep.

Tamahome nodded to the open balcony doors. "They slept outside together after necking each other."

Chichiri's eye widened a bit, and he lifted himself onto his elbow and turned his head to look towards the balcony. "They did, did they no da?" He smiled. "It's about time."

Tamahome snorted. "I was just thinking the same thing. How long have they been afraid to talk to each other bout it?"

Tamahome shrugged. "I hope so. Tasuki sure needs it more than anything else." He grinned and headed off into another room.

Tetsuya and Yui had both awoken by now, and were headed out the door. They said for them to call if they needed help finding any records, otherwise they'd meet back later.

The gang was eating and having a lively conversation by the time Tasuki and Ame walked in. All eyes were on them, some teasing, some curious, some appraising. They both turned a shade about the color of Tasuki's hair. After some winks were passed around the table, the two seated themselves and joined in on the meal. Soon after they finished eating and the dishes were cleared, the phone rang. Keisuke answered it. "Moshi moshi? Ah, Tetsuya, any luck?…..you did…does it give an address?…good!….yeah…right, in a half hour about? Hai." He hung up. "Tetsuya and Yui went to the public records and found the name in the directory."

The others nodded. "So," Chichiri said, "He is still alive around here then?"

"Well, his name's listed, and there's an address for it, so hopefully yeah. Tetsuya's gonna pick us up in a half hour and we'll go check it out."

They nodded. "What are we going to say when we get there….." Miaka mused. "We can't just go up and say 'Hi, did your son disappear sometime ago, and can you tell us what his name is and where we can find him?'"

Tasuki smirked. "Seems like a good plan to me." Ame elbowed him.

"I think," Ame said, "We should do it more subtly. Tell him we're doing a research project or something on missing persons in strange circumstances."

The group nodded in approval. "Sounds good to me." Tamahome commented.

"Let's hope we find what we're searching for this time…." 

* * *

><p>The trip to the house was uneventful, aside from the continuing marvel of traveling in a car for Tasuki and Chichiri, both of which still hadn't gotten used to the idea. Tasuki had originally kept complaining that it was a monster out to eat them. It had taken some convincing to get him inside.<p>

They pulled onto the street and carefully counted the numbers, until they pulled up to a house. They glanced up, then down again, making sure it was the right one. As they got out of the car, Tasuki whistled low. "Mou…..either this guy is a freak, or no one's lived here for a long time."

The house was run down and dilapidated. Windows were broken, the entire left side of the house looked like it was about ready to cave in, and the stairs were wooden and rotten. Cherry trees had grown wild in the yard however, making the pink blossoms scatter all over the inside of the house.

They walked up slowly, and pushed the door open, and it fell off of it's hinges. Stepping in carefully, they saw there was a small amount of furniture in the house, but it was apparent that no one had stepped foot inside for many a year. They wordlessly spread out and began looking over the area. Soon, they all came back empty handed. "Shit, there ain't nothin but dustballs here." Tasuki said, kicking a loose board.

Miaka was staring up the stairs with interest. "We should try up there."

Tamahome stepped in her way. "Oh no. Not up there. Didn't you see how the place looked? If you go up there, the whole building could collapse."

Miaka frowned. "But we gotta find something…" Suddenly her eyes brightened. "Ne, Chichiri, use your magic to make us float and we can go up that way."

Chichiri shrugged. "Sure no da, but it'd be easier if it weren't all of us no da."

"Why don't you two go on up." Keisuke said. "We'll hang out down here and try to think of other alternatives while you look."

They nodded, and Chichiri concentrated, then he and Miaka lifted into the air and she floated after him up the stairway. They both met in the hallway at the top, and Chichiri nodded for Miaka to take one way while he took the other. They separated and Miaka found herself in a younger child's room. There were toys still laying around, a bed covered in dust, and strewn objects everywhere. She floated over cautiously and began rummaging through the dresser. After finding nothing, she moved over to a small toy-chest and began digging through it. There were many toys, of all sizes and shapes, some stray bugs, and bits of paper, but that was it. Then she heard Chichiri's voice call from the other room. "Miaka…you should see this…."

She floated into the larger bedroom where Chichiri was hovering over the large dresser, holding something in his hands. He glanced up as she entered, then handed the object to her. She took it, and discovered it was a picture frame with a photo in it. Some of the dust had been wiped away, and she could see a family portrait. Then her eyes widened very largely as she caught sight of who was pictured in the portrait. She glanced up at Chichiri hesitantly, surprise in her eyes. "How can this be possible though…."

He shook his head. "It's possible…..it just depends how old the boy was when he was pulled into my world…..it wouldn't have to be the exact same time my sister left no da."

Miaka looked down at the photo. "But…" She looked sad. Chichiri put a hand on her shoulder. "Daijoubu. We'll work it out. For now, why don't we go and tell the others no da."

She nodded, and they floated back down, and their feet landed firmly on the ground as they reached the bottom. The others who had been sitting around talking, stood up and looked curious. "Well?" Tasuki demanded. "Any luck?"

Miaka glanced down at the picture again as Chichiri nodded. "We found who we're looking for. Demo..."


	5. Chapter 5

**_Aniki_  
><strong>

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Tasuki's foul mouth  
><em>

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

**Standard disclaimer:**_ These characters aren't mine they're created by the wonderful Watase Yuu, although I wish they were, Houjun-chan is such a hottie! So don't sue me, I need o-ka-ne right now..._

* * *

><p>"DEMO?" They all practically screamed.<p>

"What the hell! Not another road block?" Tamahome scowled angrily.

"As I was saying," Chichiri said rather piqued, "But, it's not someone we expected no da." He took the picture frame from Miaka, and handed it to Tasuki. "Take a look."

Tasuki took the picture irritably, and glanced down. His smile immediately vanished, and was replaced by a suspicious frown. "What the hell is this?" He looked up confused as Tamahome took it from him, and the others all peered at it. Their breaths in-took, and they all turned their gazes to Tasuki.

Tasuki's face turned red, and he snatched the picture back and stared at it. "This ain't fucking possible."

Chichiri looked solemn. "I'm afraid it is Tasuki….."

Tamahome frowned. "But it shouldn't be. All the Seishi have to be born in Konan, don't they?"

Tasuki couldn't shake his startled glance from the photo, which showed a smiling dark haired woman with a tall orange-haired man holding a young boy with similar hair who had fangs and was waving a paper fan around.

"Actually, that's not true no da. It's an assumption that that's the way it's supposed to be, however, if Tasuki came to our world early enough as a child, he could still be claimed as a Seishi no da."

They looked somber for some time, as the thought ran through their heads. Ame looked about ready to cry. "So….it figures it'd be this way…." Her voice cracked and a tear slid down her cheek. Tasuki shoved the picture into Tamahome, and put his arms around her comfortingly, hugging her close to him.

They all stood uncomfortably for several minutes in silence, then Yui spoke up softly. "Maybe we should head back…."

No one spoke any differing opinion, rather the silence was almost too much to bear. It was uncomfortable, and awkward as Tasuki stood comforting Ame, and everyone avoided other people's eyes. Finally, Chichiri strode out the door. Everyone else looked at each other, and then followed him, leaving Ame and Tasuki inside alone.

"Shit…" Tamahome whispered. "It's like the whole ordeal with Miaka and I over again…."

Miaka slid her hand into his. "Hai, I know…demo, this time we don't have Suzaku to depend on…"

Yui, Tetsuya and Keisuke all stood uncomfortably shuffling their feet. "Ne, how the hell we gonna solve this problem…." Keisuke said softly.

No one answered his statement.

"Ne, maybe Ame could stay here…."

"Iie." Chichiri's voice was short and ill tempered, surprising them all. "It doesn't work that way no da….Someone has to stay here, and someone has to go back to my world…" He suddenly slammed his fist into the nearest tree with sudden energy backed by angry ki, shattering the tree into splinters.

Everyone stood agape for a few seconds before Miaka dashed forward and grabbed his arm. "Calm down Chichiri!"

He was taking deep breaths, clenching his fists, one which was now bloodied from it's encounter with the tree. Finally, his shoulders drooped. "Gomen…..I needed to let out some frustration."

Miaka slowly let go of his arm. "Are you ok?"

He nodded slightly, slowly taking his injured fist into his hand and sighing. "There must be something we can do.."

"Well, no sense standing around here….why don't we go back home and relax, take our minds off of it for a bit, then think about it later." Keisuke suggested coming up next to him. "I'm sure there's an answer." Chichiri nodded faintly, and the group headed back to the car, while Miaka went in to tell Tasuki and Ame. Soon, they were headed back home, the atmosphere dreary and silent. 

* * *

><p>The mood hadn't improved much later that night.<p>

Tasuki and Ame were out on the balcony with the doors shut and the curtains drawn, Chichiri was on the couch slowly bandaging his hand and thinking, Miaka and Tamahome sat on the chair together, Miaka asleep in Tama's lap, Yui and Tetsuya had gone home, and Keisuke was trying to divert their mother from entering the house.

Chichiri just finished his work and had leaned back with his eye closed in thought as Miaka and Keisuke's mother entered the room followed by Keisuke himself, looking apologetic.

"I want to know what is going on right now…Miaka, Taka!"

Miaka was fast asleep in Tamahome's lap, and he looked up apologetically.

She looked exasperated, and turned her gaze to Chichiri. Her eyes widened a bit and her eyebrows raised in surprise. It wasn't just his appearance, but there was something foreign about him in general…..She crossed her arms and frowned.

Sensing someone there, Chichiri opened his eye, then stood politely and bowed to her. "You must be Miaka-chan's okaasan no da. I've heard a lot about you from her no da."

She seemed slightly taken aback. "Yes…..I am her mother. Who are you, and would YOU kindly tell me what is going on here since my son refuses to give me a straight honest answer." She glared meaningfully at Keisuke, and he cowered slightly.

Chichiri caught Tama's gaze and then looked back at Miaka's mother. "Of course I will explain things no da…..how much would you like to hear no da?"

She frowned deeper. "All of it."

He glanced sideways at Tamahome and projected his thoughts. ~How much does she know already, Tamahome-kun?~

Tamahome shook his head slightly. ~Nothing at all. She wouldn't believe it if we told her the truth.~

Chichiri frowned slightly pondering if he should use the tactic he had originally had in mind, then discounted it. It would be too much of a shock. "Hai, wakatta no da. Why don't you come with me and I'll explain it no da." They both walked into another room to sit and talk, leaving Keisuke, Tamahome, and the slumbering Miaka alone.

Keisuke flopped down on the couch. "Whew…..she almost slaughtered me back there…"

"Keisuke-san, you should really move out."

Keisuke shot a glare at Tamahome. "Hai, I know. But I don't have the money for my own apartment…."

Tamahome shrugged. "I think you would come up with it if you were serious enough about it."

Keisuke just deflated into the chair more. "Mou….you never give up." He glanced back at the room. "What do you think he's telling her?"

Tamahome shrugged. "I have no idea, to tell you the truth."

Keisuke flipped the TV on just to kill time, and they sat for several long minutes in silence, not really watching it.

Then they heard movement, and turned their heads to see Miaka's mother and Chichiri coming out of the other room. Miaka's mother's face was very pale, and she looked slightly frightened. Chichiri followed her, and let her sit on the couch in his spot, standing there calmly with his arms crossed. Tamahome and Keisuke exchanged glances. "Okaasan…..daijoubu?" Keisuke asked leaning forward and putting his hand on hers.

She jumped a little, looking up startled. "Ah…..yes…yes I will be."

Keisuke looked up at Chichiri with a puzzled glance.

"I told her everything no da."

"Everything…..meaning…?"

"Meaning from the very beginning no da."

Tamahome looked surprised, and Keisuke looked slightly taken aback. "E…everything! From day one!"

Chichiri nodded.

"Che….." he whispered, remembering what it had been like reading the book all the way through. He wondered what his mother was thinking.

"Keisuke…"

He looked up.

His mother was looking at him with a strange expression in her eyes. "Everything he told me….is it really true…..what he showed me…." Her voice shook.

Keisuke suddenly understood. The monk must have used some of his magic to transfer some of his memories of the incident to her to make it easier to understand and believe.

He stood up and moved next to her. "Hai okaasan….everything is true."

She looked shaken, and looked over at Miaka, then at Tamahome who was watching them silently. Her face softened. "My god….." She looked down. "I apologize for the things I said to you Tak- er…..Tamahome…."

He looked slightly surprised, but then smiled as he stroked Miaka's hair gently and nodded to her. "No offense taken. I understand your point of view."

She smiled slightly. "I can't believe I'm actually believing this whole thing." She laughed slightly, but then looked up at Chichiri and stopped, upon seeing his earnest expression. "You're…..really from another world?"

He nodded with a faint smile. "Hai."

As if to emphasize the point, there was a sudden 'pop' in the room, and the Nyan Nyan appeared floating right behind Chichiri, and jumped onto his back, startling the monk half to death. "Nyaaaaaaaaaaaaan!"

Choking his startlement back, Chichiri turned his head and looked at her. "Nyan Nyan! Don't appear like that without warning next time, ok no da?"

She just smiled and gave a victory sign, then floated into the center of the room. "Taiitsukun say time go home."

A look of pain crossed his face. "So soon?"

She nodded seriously, as Miaka's mom stared open mouthed at the floating girl. "Hai…..time up now."

Chichiri sighed and closed his eye in defeat. "Wakatta….." He stood up slowly. "I'll go tell them no da." And he made his way to the balcony and rapped on the window softly before opening it and saying some hushed words, then coming back in.

Miaka's mother was staring up at the Nyan Nyan fascinated. "How….how do you float in the air like that?"

The Nyan Nyan just cocked her head to the side. "Nyan Nyan just do."

There was the soft sound of the door opening, and Tasuki came in slowly followed by Ame, both looking upset. Chichiri turned around, and Tamahome gently woke Miaka up, and they too stood up and looked sad.

"Well!" Tasuki said with false cheeriness. "Guess it's time to say goodbye again….."

A tear was sliding down Ame's cheek as she turned away from him and threw herself into Chichiri, crying silently. Chichiri looked up sadly at Tasuki. "We'll find a way Tasuki…..I swear it, we'll find a way." His eye was dead serious.

Tasuki looked genuinely shocked by the look in Chichiri's eye, but he pushed it aside with a grin. "Fe, don't get fucking serious on me Chichiri. You two go back there….tell the old hag if I ever see her again, she owes me big time."

Chichiri looked at the Nyan Nyan. "It's not possible for me to stay here in his place?"

She shook her head. "No, must be fire-head." Tasuki glared at this. "Demo, not have to stay here yet. Just time for minna to go back because Nyan Nyan can't hold out power much longer." She smiled cutely. "Miaka-chan come visit us, ne?"

They seemed surprised by that, then a smile flashed across their faces and Miaka squeezed Tamahome's hand. "Want to go back for a visit Tamahome?"

He smiled. "Aah…..It would be nice to visit my family's grave again….." He looked thoughtful. "I wouldn't mind."

"Yosh!" Keisuke said standing up. "If you're going, so am I! I've wanted to see your world for a long time, and go….er, gosh darn it I'm gonna see it!" He avoided the glare his mother was throwing at him. "Count me in."

Chichiri nodded, then a thought occurred to him. "Ne.." he said turning to Miaka's mother. "Would you like to see it for yourself no da?"

She seemed surprised. "Oh…I…I can't miss work."

"You wouldn't…you see, time is different there okaasan!" Miaka chirped up taking her hand. "Come see!"

Nyan Nyan sighed. "Hayaku….Nyan Nyan can't hold power much longer."

Miaka's pleading eyes bore into her mother and reluctantly, she nodded. Nyan Nyan held her hand up into the air, bright light forming around the two fingers she held up as she closed her eyes and whispered a spell. The carpet vanished into a pool of brilliant white light, and Miaka's mother gasped and took a step backwards in astonishment, but Miaka held her arm smiling reassuringly. And then, the world faded, and they were once again standing in Taiitsukun's palace waiting room, the bright sunlight filtering down into the room.

Nyan Nyan had disappeared, leaving them in the marvelous room alone. Miaka's mother was staring in shock around her in complete wonder, when the scene was shattered. "Whaaaaaaaaa!" They all heard the voice scream out. Keisuke was laying twitching on the floor in a state of shock. Of course, Taiitsukun looked less than happy as she cleared her throat meaningfully. "Quite a party you brought back with you Chichiri, Ame."

"Taiitsukun!" Miaka smiled brightly running up and throwing her arms around the old lady, startling her every so slightly.

"Eh….enough Miaka." Taiituskun shoved her away, but a small hint of a smile was on her face. "It's good to see you to. Tamahome, you as well."

Keisuke was brushing himself off when suddenly Tasuki was up and screaming hysterically in her face. "What the hell are you thinking having me have to stay there, huh? There's gotta be something you can do! I ain't fucking staying there!"

Taiitsukun simply drew a hand up and zapped Tasuki effectively shutting him up. "Alright, now that we have order…" She clapped her hands. "Nyan Nyan!" The annoying small girls popped into existence around her. "Fix them rooms to stay in." They vanished again, and she turned her gaze appraisingly to the group. "I never did say it would be easy for you two Tasuki."

He was staring sullenly at the floor. Ame put her arm around his waist comfortingly.

"Taiitsukun…..is there a way to avoid separating them no da?"

She looked appraisingly down at the monk. "I will not reveal that to you at this time." She turned her back to them. "For now, rest. We will discuss this in the morning." And with that she vanished.

The group collectively sighed. There seemed so little they could do at this point…they felt helpless.

Miaka's mother was busy staring out the window in complete amazement. "H…how do they do this…." She gaped aloud. Miaka sweatdropped at that, and she and Tamahome exchanged glances as Keisuke joined her, marveling at the scenery.

Tasuki and Ame headed off on their own, and eventually Tamahome and Miaka did so as well. Chichiri vanished without a trace, leaving Keisuke and his mother to wander around the place. They spend hours just admiring the architecture of the building, exploring the structure fascinated. They wandered around outside, and examined the gardens and the gorgeous scenery around them, taking the time to catch up on the complete story.

They eventually found themselves in one of the far gardens, the one with the gigantic versions of Bonsai trees growing around the rock garden, with a small red bridge crossing a good sized stream rimmed with pretty flowers. They paused and stared in fascination around them, then Miaka's mother's eye was caught by a figure sitting on the bridge railing, throwing pebbles into the stream idly. Keisuke frowned slightly, recognizing Chichiri, and stepped forward towards the monk who had by now changed into his normal clothing. "Hi." He said softly, and Chichiri turned his head and gave a small smile. Keisuke noticed he still hadn't put his mask back on. "How's it going?"

He sighed. "I can't seem to come up with some alternative no da….." He shook his head seeming depressed. "I've thought about many different things, but no luck no da."

Keisuke leaned against the railing and stared at the running water, carp visible in the stream from time to time. "Maybe you should give it a rest for a bit."

He didn't answer, and Miaka's mother stood on the other side of him and looked up at him nervously. She'd been wary of him ever since he'd explained things to her, but respectful of him like she'd never been to anyone before. "Why are you so worried about this…I'm not sure I even understand what's going on."

"I simply want my sister and Tasuki to be happy together…I don't want to see another heartbreaking incident like with what happened to Tamahome and Miaka as they tried to stay together no da." He said softly clasping his hands in his lap. "If there were some way where I could take Tasuki's place, I would gladly do it to see them be happy."

They both nodded in agreement. Miaka's mother kept glancing up at him awkwardly, then spoke up uncertainly. "May I ask you a personal question?" He nodded, glancing at her. "How…..did that happen.." she asked pointing at his scar. "If it's not too personal…."

He smiled tentatively and shook his head laughing softly. "It's funny…..two years ago, I would have refused to answer your question…." He smiled fondly. "Amazing what time does to someone…."

Keisuke looked down, considering his words as Chichiri went on briefly to explain the story to her. After he'd finished, Keisuke asked him a question he'd wanted to ask for some time. "Ne, Chichiri, do you think you'll ever use that water Mitsukake gave to you before he was reborn?" He looked up to meet the monk's eye.

Chichiri looked thoughtful, and leaned back on the railing, crossing his legs for balance and frowning. "You know, I've thought about that a lot actually no da…..It's…." He paused. "Something I've given a lot of thought on, and I'm still not sure no da."

Keisuke nodded slowly. "I think…..well, it's not relevant what I think…..it's your decision in the end."

The monk nodded slightly. "Hai, but I think that it's harder that way. I have personal reasons to keep it no da…demo….." He shrugged. "I've actually been leaning towards using it recently."

Keisuke seemed surprised. Yes, he had noticed that Chichiri had more self-confidence than he'd read in the book, but he didn't think that the monk would ever actually consider it.

Keisuke's mom shook her head. "This is….very strong…..I've never heard of such devotion in anyone before." Her voice trailed off, then she posed a question. "Is all of your world like this? So…." She searched for a word to describe it. "So, well our world is too shallow….this is exactly the opposite."

He turned his head and looked at her with interest. "Since I've only been to your world twice, I can hardly answer that question no da."

She nodded faintly, pondering that. "It just seems….." She sighed and looked him up and down taking in everything. "You're so impassioned about these things…..I've never met anyone who…..was quite like that." She looked down. "I'm not making sense…."

He smiled quietly and put a hand on her shoulder comfortingly. "Daijoubu. I understand what you mean no da." He glanced back to the palace. "We should go back now. Taiitsukun says that dinner is ready for us no da."

Keisuke gave him an odd look. "She talks to you mentally or something?"

The monk nodded standing up and starting towards the palace. "Hai. She either does that or just pops in front of me without notice no da."

Keisuke chuckled. "Sounds typical of her."

Keisuke's mom spoke up tentatively. "You're close to that old woman? Is she family of yours?"

Chichiri chuckled softly. "Iie….she's my sensei no da. Ame is my only family, well, besides the other Seishi no da."

She looked surprised. "Your only family? She's your sister, ne? What happened to your parents?"

"They died in that flood I told you about no da."

She looked extremely upset. "Gomen….I didn't mean to pry….."

He chuckled lightly. "Don't worry about it no da." He smiled. "Why don't we head back no da."

They both nodded, and followed the monk back towards the palace, to dine and ponder the situation more, as it ran through their heads. 


End file.
